Palakkad: The Additional District and Sessions Court-IV here on Saturday sentenced Chenthamara (54), the convict in the 2019 Nenmara Sajitha murder case, to double life imprisonment. The court also slapped a fine of ₹3.25 lakh on him. If he fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve an additional term in jail. He was awarded separate life terms for murder and house-trespass to commit an offence. He was sentenced to five years imprisonment for destruction of evidence.

The substantive sentences of imprisonment shall run concurrently. However, the court made it clear that any remission or commutation granted by the competent authority in one case does not ipso facto result in remission of the sentence awarded to the prisoner for the other.

Pronouncing the judgment, the court observed that the case does not fall under the rarest of the rare category; hence, capital punishment will not be awarded to him. The court pronounced the sentence after a trial that lasted nearly six months.

The court also noted that Chenthamara might commit similar crimes if allowed to walk free and added that he is not mentally unstable.

Addressing the media, district police chief Ajith Kumar said that the scientific evidence gathered by the probe team turned crucial in the case. “Statements of major witnesses were collected and produced before the court. Footprints and a piece of cloth from the convict’s trousers were major evidence in the case,” he said. 

He added that the police had sought the court’s attention to the possible threat to the witnesses from Chenthamara. Hence, the court asked the police to give protection to all witnesses in the case if Chenthamara is released on parole. He noted that the probe team is satisfied with the court’s judgment.

Chenthamara, the sole accused in the case, was found guilty by the court on October 14. He was convicted of murdering Sajitha (35), a native of Pothundi, on August 31, 2019.

According to the prosecution, Chenthamara, who harboured a grudge against Sajitha — whom he blamed for his marital separation — entered her house and hacked her to death.

After securing bail in the case, he later went on to kill Sajitha’s husband Sudhakaran (54) and his elderly mother Lakshmi (75) on January 27, 2025, bringing his total number of victims to three.

During the trial in the Sajitha murder case, the prosecution examined 34 witnesses and produced 63 documents and material objects as evidence. Public Prosecutor MJ Vijayakumar appeared for the state

Additional District and Sessions Judge-IV Kenneth George convicted Chenthamara under Sections 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence), and 449 (house trespass) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).