Shajan was accused of strangulating his live-in partner and chopping her body into several pieces in Palakkad.Palakkad: A man accused of strangulating his live-in partner and chopping her body into several pieces has been sentenced to life imprisonment and slapped with a fine of Rs 50,000. The body parts were recovered from various places.
Delivering the judgement, the district court (III) here also ordered that the accused, M A Shajan (44) of Chittarikkal in Kasaragod, should undergo a five-year prison term as well as pay a fine of Rs 25,000 for destroying evidence. Both sentences will run concurrently.
The victim, Manalel Elizabeth (42), also called Leni (Leena) of Vechuchira ex-servicemen colony, Ranni in Pathanamthitta, was killed on July 26, 2007, in a house at Puthur in Palakkad. Shajan, after choking Leena to death, chopped her body and deposited the parts at various places in Palakkad district. The head was thrown into a waste dump near the KSRTC bus stand in Ernakulam, Shajan had told the police. But the severed head has not been recovered yet.
The identity of the victim was confirmed through a DNA test. She was killed for questioning Shajan over his relationship with another woman.
Leena, a married woman, was enticed by Shajan and he had promised to marry her, according to the police. Later, they had reportedly entered into wedlock at Guruvayur. Leena’s relatives had filed a complaint at Vechoochira police station after she went missing.
There were no eyewitnesses; instead, the case was proved using scientific evidence, including DNA test, phone call records and the murder weapon, a knife.
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