Indian man gets life sentence for wife's gruesome murder
Houston (PTI): An Indian man was sentenced to life imprisonment in the US state of Florida for the gruesome murder of his wife in 2020 in the parking lot of a hospital where she was working as a nurse, according to a media report.
Philip Mathew on Friday pleaded no contest to the first-degree murder of Merin Joy, his wife who was planning an escape from an abusive relationship, The Sun Sentinel newspaper reported.
The plea deal spared him from the possibility of a death sentence, the report said.
In 2020, Joy, 26, then a nurse at Broward Health Coral Springs, was stabbed 17 times. Police said Mathew blocked her car in with his, slashed her repeatedly, and then drove over her body on the ground before driving off, police said.
One of her co-workers would later say Mathew drove over her "like she was a speed bump," and as employees rushed to her aid, Joy could only cry to them over and over: "I have a baby."
Before she died, police said, she revealed her attacker's identity.
On Friday, Mathew also pleaded no contest to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was immediately sentenced to life in state prison with no possibility of release, plus a maximum of five years for the aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
The decision was made to waive the death penalty because of the certainty of the life sentence and because the defendant was giving up his right to appeal, said Paula McMahon, spokeswoman for the State Attorney's Office.
Joy's family remains devastated by their profound loss.
Joby Philip, a cousin on Joy's side of the family, watched Friday's hearing on Zoom from where he lives in Tampa, then translated the outcome to her family.
Joy's mother is "glad to know her daughter's killer would remain the rest of his years in jail and she's relieved to know the legal process is over," he said Friday.
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Hindu Ekta Sammelanams in Kerala mask sangh outreach through temple gatherings
Kochi: Temple premises in several parts of Kerala have been increasingly organizing programs calling for Hindu unity as the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh celebrates its centenary year with outreach events across the country.
The News Minute reported that one such programme held on February 28 near Edappally in Kochi began with traditional performances, including chenda melam and a Thiruvathira dance at the Anjumana Devi temple ground, and transitioned into a “Hindu Ekta Sammelanam”. Organisers were quoted as saying that the objective of the event was “to bring together members of different Hindu communities by transcending caste, regional and linguistic differences.”
The RSS is celebrating its centenary year by nationwide series of conferences. These began on October 2, 2025. Reports indicate that more than one lakh such meetings are planned across India in 2026, with over 1,000 events scheduled in Kerala between February and March.
At the Edappally programme representatives of the Hindu Aikya Vedi and other spiritual leaders expressed their thoughts. Hindu Aikya Vedi state president R V Babu said the events are organised to strengthen a sense of unity among Hindus and encourage people to move beyond caste divisions.
Participants at the gathering included members of various organisations such as the Nair Service Society, Sree Narayana Dharma Paripalana Yogam and representatives of other community groups. Some attendees said they viewed the events primarily as religious or cultural programmes organised around temples in their localities.
Criticizing the gatherings, leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) said that temple premises are being used to advance a political agenda under the cover of religious and cultural programs. The party’s youth wing, the Democratic Youth Federation of India, has opposed some of the events at the local level, arguing that religious spaces should not become platforms for ideological mobilisation.
Some attendees clarified that they participated viewing the programmes as temple-based community events rather than political meetings. Others acknowledged that discussions during the sessions included references to electoral participation and broader social themes.
Similar objections were raised in Kozhikode district, where local CPI(M) workers opposed a gathering linked to a temple committee. He argued that religious spaces should not be used for political mobilization, when Kerala is expected to go to Assembly polls in 2026.
