The Sixth Additional Sessions Court in Thiruvananthapuram, on Monday, May 12, convicted Kedal Jinson Raja in the infamous Nanthancode mass murder case, which involved the horrific killing of four members of his own family in April 2017. The court announced that the quantum of punishment will be delivered on Tuesday, May 13.
The case, which shocked Kerala with its brutality and bizarre spiritual motivations, involved the murder of Raja’s father Dr Raja Thankam, mother Dr Jean Padma, sister Dr Caroline, and a relative named Lalitha over two days – April 5 and 6, 2017 – at their residence in Bains Compound near Cliff House, Nanthancode.
According to reports, the court found that Raja had murdered his family members in a particularly gruesome manner. Forensic testimony revealed that the victims were dismembered with axes, knives and machetes. Three of the bodies were set on fire, while one was discovered wrapped in bedsheets inside the home.
Raja, a medical graduate, had reportedly become obsessed with astral projection while studying abroad. He told investigators that he committed the murders as part of his experiments with out-of-body experiences. Before the killings, he laced the family’s food with pesticides. After they became ill and vomited, he hacked them to death and burned the bodies.
Subsequently he fled to Chennai to evade arrest. But he was arrested at Thampanoor railway station upon returning to Thiruvananthapuram as his photos had widely appeared in the newspapers. He has remained in judicial custody at Poojappura Central Jail since his arrest.
The court rejected Raja’s plea of mental illness. A medical board had earlier certified him as mentally sound, enabling the trial to proceed. The final arguments in the case concluded on April 28, after which the verdict, originally scheduled for May 6 was ultimately delivered on May 12.
The sentencing hearing is set for Tuesday, when the court will announce the punishment for what it called a “deliberate and chilling act of familial violence.”