Coimbatore: The accused in the murder of a woman in Raheja Apartments in 2013 has been convictedv today and sentenced to death, 7 years imprisonment and Rs.10,000 fine for destroying evidence, with another 7 years imprisonment and Rs.10,000 fine for theft. The trial of the long-pending murder case was held today, at the 4th Additional District Court.
Coimbatore: The accused in the murder of a woman in Raheja Apartments in 2013 has been convictedv today and sentenced to death, 7 years imprisonment and Rs.10,000 fine for destroying evidence, with another 7 years imprisonment and Rs.10,000 fine for theft. The trial of the long-pending murder case was held today, at the 4th Additional District Court.
Sarojini (54) was murdered in her Raheja Apartment on Avinashi Road in Coimbatore, in 2013 and the suspect Yasser Arafat (33) of Melapalayam, Tirunelveli was arrested in Visakhapatnam in connection with the murder case by a special police team.
Case History :
Sarojini lived with her family in the city's Raheja Apartments. Her murder came to light when police officers found her body in the opposite house. They were shocked to find that the killer had butchered the victim into seven pieces and packed the pieces in polythene sheets and carry bags, before dumping them in two huge suitcases with trolleys. The accused had also applied cement inside the suitcase, apparently to prevent stench of the corpse pieces.
Upon investigation, it was found that Yasser Arafat from Tirunelveli lived in the house opposite to Sarojini's and seven special police teams were deployed to find the accused. Yasser Arafat was later arrested from a lodge in Vishakapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, on 2. He was then brought to Coimbatore and produced before the Court, and was ordered to be kept in Court custody until September 18. Later, the police petitioned asking for his custody for which the Magistrate asked the police to file their petition on September 26, and hence Yasser Arafat was sent back to the Central Prison.
Yasser Arafat who was used to butchering goats callously did the same to Sarojini's body. He packed the head, hands and legs in the new suitcase he had bought. Since, he was unable to pack the thighs of the corpse, he applied cement over it, put it in a plastic bag and dumped it in the loft in his house. Three days later, when the residents around complained of stench, police reached the spot and retrieved the decomposed body parts and sent them to the Government Hospital for forensic tests.