Mill owner sentenced to life for rape and murder

Chennai, Apr 9 (UNI) Madras High Court today sentenced to life a Coimbatore-based mill owner, who was found guilty earlier in a case of rape and murder of a teenage girl in 1995.

A Division Bench comprising Justices R Balasubrmanian and A C Arumugaperumal Adityan awarded the life sentence to the mill owner and directed him to pay a compensation of Rs two lakh to the family of the deceased.

The Bench also sentenced two-years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) to Inspector Anbazhagan and one Dhanushkodi and slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 each, in default of which they will undergo six months RI, for tampering with the evidence.

Though the Bench awarded one-year RI to another accused Sundarasamy, it reduced it to three-months RI and said if he had already undergone the three-month imprisonment, he should be set at liberty.

The Bench, however, upheld the order of the lower court, acquitting two more accused Damodaran and Krishnan in the case.

The bench had on April 5, found the accused guilty of the charges while reversing the orders of acquittal passed by the First Additional Sessions Judge, Chief Judicial Magistrate of Coimbatore and directed the accused to be present in the court today.

UNI