Catholic priest, nun sentenced to life in Sister Abhaya murder case
Thiruvananthapuram, Dec 23: A CBI special court here on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to the catholic priest and nun, who were found guilty of the murder of Sister Abhaya 28 years ago in Kottayam.
Special CBI Judge K Sanal Kumar awarded double life sentence to Father Thomas Kottoor and imposed a fine of Rs 6.5 lakh.
Whereas the other accused in the case, Sister Sephy, was sentenced to life and a fine of Rs 5.5 lakh was slapped on her.
The court had on Tuesday found the two guilty of the murder of Sister Abhaya, who was found dead in a well in St Pius convent in Kottayam in 1992.
The court also sentenced the duo to seven years of imprisonment for tampering with evidence.
However, the sentences shall run concurrently, the court said.
Fr Kottoor has been sentenced for double life imprisonment for two offences--murder and criminal trespass under sections 302 and 449 of IPC respectively.
The court has slapped a fine of Rs five lakh under section 302 and one lakh for criminal trespass.
It also sentenced the priest to seven years of imprisonment and Rs 50,000 fine for tampering the evidence under section 201 of the IPC.
Sister Sephy has been imprisoned for life under section 302 of IPC along with a fine of Rs five lakh and seven years imprisonment for tampering with the evidence which also carries a fine of Rs 50,000.
While pronouncing the verdict on Tuesday, the court had said the murder charges against the two accused will stand.
The detailed verdict is not out yet.
The accused, who were on bail, were taken into judicial custody on Wednesday after the mandatory COVID-19 testing and police had shifted Father Kottoor to Poojapura central jail and Sister Sephy to Attakulangara women's prison here.
Abhaya(21), a second year student of the BCM college, Kottayam, was staying at St Pius convent.
Another accused in the case, Fr Jose Puthrikkayil, was discharged earlier following lack of evidence.
Initially, the case was investigated by the local police and state crime branch, which concluded that Abhaya had committed suicide.
The CBI, took over probe on March 29, 1993 which also filed three closure reports saying though it was a case of murder, the culprits culd not be found out.
However, on September 4, 2008, the Kerala High Court came down heavily on CBI over the handling of the Sister Abhaya murder case and said the agency was "still a prisoner of those who wield political and bureaucratic power" and directed that the probe be handed over by the Delhi unit to its Kochi counterpart.
Subsequently, the central agency in 2008 arrested wo priests-Fr Thomas Kottoor, Fr Jose Poothrikkayil and a nun - Sister Sephy on the charge of murder.
According to prosecution, Kottoor and Poothrikkayil were allegedly having an illicit relationship with Sephy, also an inmate of the convent.
On the night of March 27, 1992, Abhaya allegedly saw Kottoor and Sephy in a compromising position, following which the three accused hacked her with an axe and threw her into the well, it had said in its charge sheet.
The accused were arrested in 2008 and released on bail by the Kerala High Court a year later.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
India-bound LPG tanker clears Hormuz
New Delhi (PTI): A tanker carrying liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for India has sailed out of the Strait of Hormuz and is now headed towards the country, an official statement said on Sunday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged LPG carrier MT Sarv Shakti, loaded with 46,313 tonnes of LPG and staffed by 20 crew, including 18 Indians, cleared the key shipping chokepoint on May 2 and is expected to reach Visakhapatnam on May 13, it said.
The cargo -- enough to meet half a days requirement of the country -- will partly tide over supply constraints being faced since the start of the West Asia conflict more than two months back.
Ship-tracking data showed its position in Oman Gulf on Sunday evening.
The very large gas carrier has previously made runs between the Persian Gulf and Indian ports, has been chartered by state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Sarv Shakti is the first India-linked tanker to cross the war zone since a weeks-old US blockade of ships tied to Iran began, pushing transits through Hormuz back down to almost zero.
There are as many as 14 Indian flagged or India-owned vessels still stranded on the west side of the Strait of Hormuz.
The statement said no incident involving Indian-flagged vessels has been reported in the past 24 hours. The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is working closely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Indian missions and maritime stakeholders to ensure crew welfare and uninterrupted operations.
The Directorate General of Shipping (DG Shipping) control room has handled 8,373 calls and more than 17,965 emails since activation, including 38 calls and 127 emails in the last 24 hours.
India has also facilitated the repatriation of more than 2,953 seafarers so far, including 31 in the past day from across the Gulf region.
Port operations across the country remain normal with no congestion reported, the statement added.
