Palakkad (Kerala): The Palakkad Additional District and Sessions Court-IV in Kerala on Monday sentenced a 61-year-old man to death in the 2025 Nenmara double murder case.
Palakkad Additional Sessions Judge Kenneth George sentenced Chenthamara to death and imposed a fine of ₹20 lakh for murdering his neighbour Sudhakaran and his mother, Lakshmi, at Pothundi near Nenmara on 27 January 2025.
The court convicted Chenthamara under Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for murder and Section 126(2) for wrongful restraint.
Holding that the case fell under the "rarest of rare" category, the court observed that the convict had murdered multiple members of the same family.
Chenthamara had earlier been arrested for the 2019 murder of Sudhakaran's wife, Sajitha, whom he allegedly blamed for his marital problems.
After being released on bail in January 2025 in that case, he murdered Sudhakaran and Lakshmi.
Police arrested him shortly after the double murder following a massive manhunt, and he was later lodged in the Malampuzha sub-jail.
In the Sajitha murder case, a court had earlier sentenced Chenthamara to double life imprisonment.
During the trial in the double murder case, the prosecution examined 81 witnesses and produced 28 material objects before the court.
The judgment came after the prosecution's persistent demand for the death penalty.
Earlier, on 13 June, the court found Chenthamara solely guilty of the crime. The verdict came nearly a year and a half after the murders.
