KARAIKAL: A Karaikal court on Thursday sentenced a woman to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 for killing a schoolboy by poisoning his drink with cyanide in 2022.
According to police, the accused, identified as Sagayarani Victoria (46), was found guilty of murdering Bala Manikandan (13), an eighth standard student at a private school in Kottucherry near Karaikal.
On September 2, 2022, the boy fell ill after drinking a soft drink given to him by a school security guard. He vomited and fainted after returning home. Despite treatment at the Karaikal Government Hospital, he died two days later.
Investigations revealed that Victoria, whose daughter was a classmate of the victim, had handed the drink to the guard.
Police said Victoria had mixed cyanide-laced rat poison into the beverage, allegedly because she was jealous of the boy’s academic performance. She reportedly handed over the drink to the security guard posing as the mother of the victim.
Victoria was arrested after she admitted to the crime during interrogation. The police recovered the remaining poison from her house.
Delivering the verdict, Judge Mohan of the Karaikal court found Victoria guilty and sentenced her to life imprisonment and a Rs 20,000 fine.