The 2nd fast track court on Thursday sentenced 3 convicts in the sensational Srirampura murder case in 2007 to life imprisonment. Judge Gurunath Shamba Revankar pronounced the quantum of punishment and also slapped a fine of Rs 15,000 each failing which the accused have to undergo two years’ simple imprisonment. Public prosecutor B. Laxman was present on behalf of the government.
Tension prevailed for some time in the court premises after supporters of the accused voiced their displeasure over the judgment. However the police got into action and brought the situation under control. On January 3 2007, a 37-year-old woman identified as Pushpa was brutally murdered along with her 12-year-old daughter, Hemalatha at her residence. The accused, V. Vindhya (29), a native of Gudiyattam in Tamil Nadu, R. Surendra (33) of Vellore in Tamil Nadu and Kaftan Khan (32) of Ajmer district in Rajasthan had murdered Pushpa and her daughter Hemalatha by slitting their throats and looting cash and gold ornaments from their house in Srirampuram police station limits.
The accused Vindhya used to frequently visit the beauty parlour owned by Pushpa and knew that Pushpa had gold jewellery. She and her husband Surendra then conspired to loot the ornaments. Around 3.30 p.m. on January 3, Vindhya called on Pushpa and offered to buy her sweets as it was her birthday. Around 9.30 pm, Vindhya returned to Pushpa’s house and gave sweets (“milk khova”) to Pushpa and Hemalatha which was mixed with sedatives.
She then slit Pushpa’s throat and took away all her valuables. Though Vindhya did not intend to kill Hemalatha, the girl’s semi conscious condition made Vindhya murder her too. She then called up Surendran on her mobile seeking help. Later, the duo locked up the bodies in the bedroom and fled the scene along with Khaftan Khan who was guarding the house from outside. The trio fled on a two wheeler.