A 58-year-old man, convicted by a Kerala court in a double murder case on Monday, told the court that he was “unrepentant” and would kill again “if anyone comes in his way”.
Chinthamara made these statements in the district and additional sessions court in Palakkad district before the court found him guilty of killing his neighbor Sudhakaran and Sudhakaran’s mother Lakshmi in January 2025.
The same court convicted the 58-year-old last year of murdering Sudhakaran’s wife Sajitha in Buttondi in 2019.
Public Prosecutor M G Vijayakumar said the accused made the statements in response to the court’s observations that the district probation officer found Chinthamara to have no moral culpability about committing the murders and posing a threat to the society.
“Then Chinthamara said: ‘Yes, I have no regrets. I am not a Gandhian. I will do it (kill) again if anyone comes my way,'” the prosecutor told HT.
Although the hearing on the quantum of punishment was scheduled for July 15, the accused also asked the court on Monday to go ahead and execute him, the lawyer said.
The court found Chinthamara guilty under Sections 101 (murder) and 126 (unlawful restraint) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) in the case.
“The court has examined all the factors in the case and arrived at this verdict. The circumstantial evidence and testimonies of witnesses along with the medical and forensic evidence presented by the prosecution in court have proven to be key against the accused,” Vijayakumar said. “The police did a fantastic job of scientifically collecting evidence.”
He added: “We will definitely appeal the death penalty on July 15. We hope that the court will agree with our position.”
Chinthammara was out on bail in the 2019 murder case when he broke into Sudhakaran’s house in Putundi near Nanmara on January 27, 2025 and hacked him and his mother Lakshmi to death with a machete. The accused had violated his bail conditions by staying at his home in Buthondi. The police were also heavily criticized for not detecting the accused’s presence in the area and preventing the murders despite the threat he posed to Sudhakaran’s family.
According to the prosecution, the 57-year-old accused had held a deep grudge against Sudhakaran and his family for years after a local astrologer told him that the family was responsible for his wife leaving him.
Motivated by personal enmity, Chinthamara entered Sajitha’s house in August 2019 to hack her to death using a machete while her husband and children were away.
In the 2019 case, the lower court sentenced Chinthamara to double life imprisonment and a $100,000 fine. $3.25 lakh.
