LI NETWORK
A special CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram has sentenced Father Thomas M Kottoor and Sister Sephy to life imprisonment in the 28-year-old murder case.
The culprits are also fined Rs 5 lakh each under Section 302 of the IPC. Father Kottoor has additionally been imposed a fine of Rs one lakh under Section 466.
The priest and nun are awarded seven years of imprisonment and a Rs 50,000 fine each for the offence of the destruction of evidence under Section 201 of IPC.
A special CBI court in Thiruvananthapuram had found the priest and nun guilty of murder.
During a trial that started in August 2019, nine prosecution witnesses in the case had turned aggressive.
Father Jose Poothrikkayil, another accused in the case, was discharged by the CBI Court last year.
While discharging Poothrikkayil, the CBI court held that the prosecution had failed to bring out enough material to proceed against him.
A plea was filed in the High Court against discharging Poothrikkayil in the case. The court, however, rejected it.
Sister Abhaya, born Beena Thomas, was found dead in a well of St Pius X Convent in Kottayam on March 27, 1992.
The investigation into the sister’s death is the longest-running murder investigation in Kerala.
Initially, the case was investigated by the local police which declared the death to be suicidal.
However, the final report of the CBI, in 1996, was not accepted by the Chief Judicial Magistrate.
In 2005, another team of investigators found the names linked to death.
In 2008, the Kerala HC had ordered the Kochi Unit of CBI to lead the investigation, which arrested Father Thomas Kottoor, Father Jose Poothrikkayil, and Sister Sephy.