The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the death penalty awarded to the lone surviving accused in the sensational Coimbatore sibling-murder case that had rocked the state of Tamil Nadu in 2010.
Anu* (11) and Ashish* (8) went missing on October 29, 2010, from a spot near their house while they were waiting for their school van. That night, Anu’s body was recovered from a Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) canal near Pongalur, around 50 kilometres away from Coimbatore, while Ashish’s body was recovered from the water two days later.
The police had arrested two men – Mohana Krishnan and his accomplice Manoharan, both of them 23 years old at that time – in connection with the crime. Mohana Krishnan was known to the children since he used to occasionally ferry them to and from their school. He allegedly confessed to the crime and told the police that they were planning to seek a ransom from the parents and subsequently changed their minds due to fear of getting caught by the police. They hence sexually assaulted the girl and physically tortured the boy before making them ingest chemical-laced milk. The duo then pushed them into the PAP canal and fled from the spot.
Mohana Krishnan was shot dead on November 9 by the police when he allegedly tried to escape by snatching a police revolver. The duo at the time was being taken by the police to the spot of the crime.
In 2012, the Coimbatore Mahila court awarded a double death penalty and a triple life term to Manoharan. Manoharan had challenged this verdict in the Madras High Court, but the plea was dismissed by the court. The judges had recorded sharp observations while dismissing his plea and upholding the conviction of the local court. In 2014, Manoharan had filed an appeal in the Supreme Court.
(*Names changed)