Coimbatore man gets life term for murder

The Special Court for Trial of Bomb Blast Cases in Coimbatore on Friday sentenced a man to undergo life imprisonment for murdering his friend in a dispute over sale of roosters in 2021.

Judge K. Vivekananthan awarded the punishment to S. Sampathkumar, 35, a resident of Pallapalayam at Sulur, for murdering A. Sreenivasan, 55, of Mariamman Kovil Street at Ondipudur.

The police said that Sreenivasan’s relative Karthikeyan, a painter, used to stay at his residence. He was introduced to Sampathkumar through Karthikeyan. The three used to consume liquor at Sreenivasan’s house. Sampathkumar had been rearing fighter roosters, which Sreenivasan and Karthikeyan used to sell.

Sampathkumar handed over six roosters to the duo on July 16, 2021 morning for sales, stating that the birds had been dying of a disease. Around 3 p.m., Karthikeyan informed Sampathkumar over the phone that three of the six roosters had died and he disposed of the carcasses.

According to the police, Sampathkumar visited Sreenivasan and Karthikeyan around 9 p.m. on the same day and questioned them whether they made money by selling the roosters and lied to him that three of them died.

Though Karthikeyan told Sampathkumar that three roosters indeed died, the latter did not believe it and assaulted Sreenivasan with the lid of a pressure cooker. He also attacked Karthikeyan, who tried to intervene. Sreenivasan was admitted to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital, where he died the next day. Sampathkumar was arrested by the Singanallur police for murdering Sreenivasan and attempting to murder Karthikeyan.

The court, after the trial, found Sampathkumar guilty of the two charges against him. The judge awarded him life imprisonment along with a fine of ₹10, 000 for the murder and three years jail term and a fine of ₹5,000 for the murder attempt. Special Public Prosecutor K. Karthikeyan appeared for the prosecution.

Published - October 18, 2024 06:41 pm IST