INDIA: DEATH SENTENCE IN HIGHWAY MURDER CASE

the first accused in the sensational Kanichukulangara highway triple murder case that rocked Kerala in 2005 was sentenced to death. Unni, who was the driver of the truck that rammed a Tata safari carrying T.G. Ramesh, his sister Latha, driver Shamsudheen and two others at Kanichukulangara, was given the death penalty by Aleppey District and Sessions Judge D. Sreevallabhan. The judge awarded life imprisonment to Ajith Kumar, Saju alias Mirgam Saju, Shibi, Sajith and Binish. The fifth accused Unnikrishnan, alias Chimbootan, was imprisoned for one year while Gokulan and Shibinraj received two and three years in jail, respectively. The court has imposed a fine of Rs500,000 each on Sajith and Binish, who are the proprietors of the Himalaya Group chit company. The prosecution case was that Sajith and Binish ordered the murder of Ramesh months after they parted ways with him. The truck driven by Unni and Ajith Kumar purposefully rammed the Tata Safari, killing Ramesh, Latha and Shamsuddin on the spot. Vijayadharan and Kuttikrishnan survived the crash.