Kerala court sentences Bangladeshi to death for murder of elderly couple in 2019
Mavelikkara (Kerala)(PTI): A sessions court in Kerala has sentenced to death a Bangladesh national for the murder of an elderly couple in November 2019 at Venmony village of Chengannur taluk in Alappuzha district.
Additional District and Sessions Judge-II Kenneth George on Tuesday sentenced Labloo Hasan, the first accused, to death for the murder of the elderly couple as well as life terms for each of the offences of causing hurt using a deadly weapon during a robbery and trespassing into a house for committing an offence punishable with death.
The second accused, Juval Hasan, who is also a Bangladesh national, was spared the death penalty and was sentenced to life imprisonment for each of the offences of murder, causing hurt using a deadly weapon during a robbery and trespassing into a house for committing an offence punishable with death.
The court said all the sentences would run concurrently.
Besides that, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh on each of them.
Additional Public Prosecutor S Solomon told PTI that the manner in which the elderly woman was killed -- by using a garden hoe which completely destroyed her face -- was gruesome, brutal and therefore, fell in the rarest of rare category.
The second accused was spared the death penalty owing to his young age -- 21 years -- at the time of commission of the offence and since he had elderly parents back home, the prosecutor said.
Giving details of the case, the prosecutor said the two accused arrived at Chengannur on November 2, 2019 and on November 7, 2019 they had approached the victims -- A P Cherian (76) and his wife Elykutty Cherian (68) -- for a job.
Since the victims' daughter had expired and it was her death anniversary on November 14, 2019, they employed the duo for cleaning the grounds, he said and added that on November 10, the accused noticed the elderly woman's gold ornaments while she was going to church.
Thereafter, on November 11, 2019 afternoon, they went to the victims' house and on the pretext of looking for accommodation for some relatives they went with the husband to the outhouse where he was killed by hitting him on the head with an iron road, the prosecutor said.
Then they went inside the house with a hoe and killed the wife in the kitchen.
The incident came to light the next day and the police traced their location to Chennai and found that they had boarded the Coromandel Express to Kolkata.
On November 13, 2019, a team of Andhra Pradesh police and Railway Protection Force nabbed the duo from the train at Visakhapatnam, the prosecutor said and added that they were later handed over to Kerala Police.
The prosecutor also said 45 sovereigns of gold, Rs 17,000 in cash, two watches, a mobile phone and a purse, all belonging to the victims, were recovered from the duo.
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TN govt reaffirms 21-yr age limit for liquor sales
Chennai (PTI): Seeking to curb rising alcohol consumption among minors in the state, the Tamil Nadu government has reinforced the legal age requirement of 21 for all liquor purchases and consumption.
The government has also ordered the closure of 717 liquor outlets across the state and warned of strict action against those who violate the new directives.
The state-owned Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC), the agency which holds a monopoly on sales of liquor, will be shutting 276 outlets near places of worship, 186 near educational institutions and 255 outlets near bus stations.
A senior TASMAC official on Thursday said that the staff at liquor shops have been instructed to check identity proof, including Aadhaar card, for all customers whose age is in question.
The official also said that the state government is considering a reduction in operational hours.
Currently, the liquor shops across the state operate from 12 noon to 10 pm.
"They are weighing a proposal to move the closing time to 8 pm," he added.
At present, the TASMAC operates a total of 4,765 liquor shops across the state. After the closure of 717 shops, it would come down to 4,048 outlets.
In 2025, the revenue from liquor sales stood at Rs 48,344 crore, which is the second highest after the registration department.
