By TNN
Cuddalore: Cuddalore sessions judge S Uthamaraj of the special court for cases under SC/ ST (prevention of atrocities) Act on Monday sentenced four members of a family to double life terms for murdering a dalit woman in a caste killing case at a village near Bhuvanagiri in the district. Those convicted include the husband of the deceased woman.
According to the prosecution, S Panchanathan, 50, from a village near Bhuvanagiri lodged a police complaint stating that his daughter P Seetha, who ran a photocopy shop in the village, had gone missing.
Police registered a missing case and launched a hunt for her. Inquiries revealed that A Saravanan, 36, a person from a most backward class community in the same locality, and Seetha had secretly married at the Cuddalore registrar office on May 5 in 2014.
Police continued their hunt for the woman and her lover-husband, who had also gone missing. Meanwhile, Saravanan surrendered before Panruti judicial magistrate on July 15 in 2014 after learning that police were searching him.
The next day, Saravanan’s brother-in-law V Venkatesan, 71, approached the Melbhuvanagiri village administrative officer and confessed that he and Saravanan had murdered Seetha and burned the body before burying its remains at a farmhouse where he was working as a watchman.
This story was originally published in timesofindia.indiatimes.com. Read the full story here.