A special court in Chennai on Monday, December 30, sentenced a 28-year-old man for brutally murdering a college student by pushing her in front of a moving train in Chennai in 2022, by considering the gravity and nature of the crime.
Mahila Court judge J Sridevi pronounced the quantum of sentence three days after finding D Sathish guilty of the crime, which was investigated by the Crime Branch - Crime Investigation Department (CB-CID), stated a report by The New Indian Express.
"The accused is sentenced to death and be hanged by the neck till he is dead," the judge said in the order. However, the order for capital punishment is subject to confirmation by the Madras High Court, she added, and ordered the submission of the entire case records to the HC immediately.
Sathish, who was 26 at the time of the murder, was also sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for three years for harassing the victim, M Sathya. A combined fine of Rs 35, 000 was also imposed on him.
Special public prosecutor AM Ravindranath Jeyapal appeared for the CB-CID.
The prosecution had presented the case as the 'rarest of rare' and accordingly placed the evidence in the court. It stated that the convict had harassed her continuously, leading to police complaints, before ending in the crime which was premeditated.
The CCTV footage revealed that after pushing her in front of the train, Sathish had leaned forward from the platform to confirm whether she was crushed to death once the train had left the station.
According to the prosecution, the victim was waiting on the platform to board a train when the stalker, pretending to be talking over a mobile phone, approached her and suddenly pushed her in front of the approaching train, leading to her death.
Unable to bear the agony, her father Manickam ended his life that very day. Her ailing mother passed away weeks after the tragic incident.
The judge, on December 27, convicted him after finding him guilty of committing the offences of murder under Section 302 of IPC and harassment under Section 4 of TN Prohibition of Harassment of Women Act, 1998.
The shocking incident occurred on October 13, 2022, at the St Thomas Mount railway station. Sathya and Sathish were both residents of the police quarters in Alandur, according to the report by The New Indian Express.
The former's mother was a police constable while the latter's father had retired from the force. They had earlier been friends but had fallen out. Sathish was angered after Sathya's parents arranged for her marriage.
The judge ordered a compensation of Rs 10 lakh, to be paid within 30 days, for the younger sisters of the victim for the mental trauma they have suffered, apart from directing a payment of Rs 25,000 out of the fine of Rs 35,000 to them.
