Thiruvananthapuram: The Nedumangad SC/ST Special Court on Wednesday sentenced all 11 convicts in the Pothencode Sudheesh murder case to life imprisonment. Judge A Shajahan delivered the verdict a day after finding all the accused guilty.

As per the case, the 11-member gang hacked to death Mangalapuram native Sudheesh (32) on December 11, 2021. Police stated that the victim, who had a criminal background, was killed during a scuffle between rival goonda gangs. CCTV footage showed the convicts celebrating the murder with the severed foot of the victim. The police had charged the accused with murder, criminal conspiracy, and causing injury with weapons.

The 11 convicted in the case are notorious goonda Ottakam Rajesh, Sudheesh alias Unni, Shyam, Nidheesh, Nandeesh, Ranjith, Sreenath, Sooraj, Arun, Jishnu Pradeep, and Sachin.

The Case
The incident occurred around 2.30 pm on December 11, 2021, when a 12-member gang chased Sudheesh—who had taken refuge at a relative's house—and hacked him to death. The gang, arriving on two bikes and an auto-rickshaw, also damaged the window panes and door of the house where he was hiding.

It is reported that Sudheesh suffered over a hundred cut injuries. He bled to death after the gang chopped off his foot in front of his wife and child. The attackers carried part of Sudheesh’s severed foot for over half a kilometre before discarding it.

The murder was carried out as an act of vengeance for an earlier attack by Sudheesh on one of their associates.