Kerala HC Upholds Death Sentence in Dalit Law Student Rape & Murder Case

The Kerala High Court on Monday upheld the death sentence imposed by a sessions court on Ameerul Islam, the perpetrator, for the 2016 rape and murder of a 30-year-old Dalit law student in the state.

A division bench of the high court upheld the death penalty, rejecting the appeal filed by the convict challenging the sessions court verdict. The capital punishment confirmation was also based on the death sentence reference from the sessions court.

The Gruesome Incident

Islam faced charges of raping and murdering the woman in Perumbavoor on April 28, 2016.
He viciously attacked the woman, who came from a poor family, using sharp-edged weapons before killing her at her residence.

Ernakulam Court

In 2017, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions court sentenced Islam, a migrant laborer from Assam, to death for the murder.

Islam was convicted by the sessions court under various sections of the IPC, including 449 (house trespass to commit an offense punishable with death), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 302 (murder), 376 (rape), and 376 (A) (causing death or causing the woman to be in a persistent vegetative state while committing rape).

SIT

The Special Investigation Team, which investigated the case, utilized DNA technology and verification of call record details to establish Islam’s involvement in the crime.

Islam, who had fled Perumbavoor shortly after the incident, was apprehended from Kancheepuram in neighboring Tamil Nadu, 50 days after the heinous act.

Over 100 police personnel interrogated more than 1,500 individuals in connection with the case.

The SIT personnel examined fingerprints of over 5,000 people and sifted through over 20 lakh telephonic conversations before tracing Islam.

Read More: Supreme Court, Delhi High Court, States High Court, Other Courts, International