Life-term, Fine for 2 Convicted in Child Sacrifice Case in Yeyyadi
Mangaluru: The fourth additional district and sessions court in the city on Wednesday had declared Kamalaksha Purusha (79) and Chandrakala (34), said to be the former’s foster-daughter, guilty of offering a neighbour’s child as a sacrifice in rituals connected with sorcery at Yeyyadi in December 2010.
The quantum of punishment was pronounced by magistrate Nerale Veerabhadraiah Bhavani on Thursday. Both the accused have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Besides, a fine of Rs 50,000 has been imposed on Purusha for the killing, under IPC section 302 and Rs 10,000 on Chandrakala.
On the grounds of the destruction of evidence, they shall undergo a term of three years’ rigorous imprisonment and an additional fine of Rs 10,000 each, under IPC section 201.
Out of the total fine of Rs 80,000, a sum of Rs 10,000 will be paid to the public exchequer and Rs 70,000 to the aggrieved family. The judge also ruled that there was scope for further relief from the Legal Services Authority and a recommendation would be made.
Priyanka was the child of Firan Kumar Jha from Bihar who worked as a security guard in an electronic goods outlet, and his wife Anjali Devi. They lived in a rented house belonging to Purusha’s brother in Sharbatkatte of Yeyyadi.
Chandrakala had befriended the child and used to take her to her house every now and then. On Dec 10, 2016 too she gated had taken the child, who did not return home. Firan Kumar had filed a complaint at the Kadri police station soon thereafter.
Since the neighbours expressed suspicions about Purusha and his associate, the police interrogated them. Purusha showed a bush in an adjacent farm where the body of the child had been dumped after the sorcery rituals.
The post-mortem examination showed that the child had been strangled and the body bore burn injuries caused by boiling water. The neighbours had observed that rituals were being held at Purusha’s house at odd hours in the night. Their suspicions about the duo proved right.
Earlier report: