Kovalam Latvian tourist’s murder: Court sentences both convicts to double life term

 

Thiruvananthapuram: The Thiruvananthapuram First Class Additional Sessions Court sentenced the two convicts, in the rape and murder of a Latvian woman in Kovalam, to double life term imprisonment, on Tuesday. The sessions court judge K Sanilkumar also imposed a fine of Rs 1,65,000 on the convicts.

The court had found both Udayan (27) and Umesh(31) guilty of all major charges slapped on them, including murder, rape, destruction of evidence and the use of psychotropic substances to trap the victim. The court witnessed dramatic incidents prior to the sentencing on Tuesday morning. The accused shouted they are innocent and demanded a lie detector test. They also alleged that they have seen a yoga instructor, who is a polyglot, escape from the crime scene and urged the court to investigate. They also requested a detailed scientific examination of hair collected from the dead body.

However, the court declared the verdict after hearing the pleas of the convicts. The convicts created a ruckus in the court even after the punishment was announced. The accused were found guilty based on circumstantial and scientific evidence. A double life term implies the convict has to remain in jail till the end of his life. The state government can consider releasing a person with double life term for remission only if he/she has completed 14 years in prison.

The highly decomposed and headless body of the woman was recovered from a mangrove forest at nearby Thiruvallam on April 21, 2018, and Umesh and Udayan were arrested on May 3, 2018. The two men were charged under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape), and 20(b) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

Police had said that the woman was raped and murdered by the two accused, who are drug peddlers, on March 14, the day she went missing. The accused lured her to the spot saying it was a scenic and beautiful place, made her consume ganja, and then sexually assaulted and strangled her to death, they said. Post-mortem conducted on her body revealed blood clots in her brain, a sign of strangulation. The victim’s undergarments were also missing, suggesting that her body was violated.