Kochi: The Kerala High Court on Thursday sentenced two convicts to life imprisonment in the Kozhikode Adithi murder case. The convicts are Subramanian Namboothiri and his second wife Ramla Beegum (also known as Devika Antharjanam). The court also imposed a fine of ₹2 lakh on each of them.

As per the case, Adithi (6), daughter of Subramanian Namboothiri, was beaten to death at Bilathikulam in Kozhikode on April 30, 2013. She had been admitted to a hospital the previous day with severe bruises and burn injuries. The victim’s brother was the lone witness in the case.

The post-mortem report had revealed that the girl was subjected to brutal physical torture several times earlier, and the injury caused in the pelvic area had led to her death on the fatal day.

Responding to the HC judgement, the natives of Bilathikulam remembered that the girl’s mother brutally assaulted her and even dared to confine her in a kennel.

In 2016, a local court in Kozhikode sentenced the father and the stepmother to rigourous punishment of three years on charges of starving the child to death. A fine of ₹7 lakh was also slapped on the duo. However, the prosecution failed to prove the murder.