Jisha Murder Case: Kerala court convicts migrant labourer Ameerul Islam

Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court judge N Anil Kumar will pronounce the quantum of punishment tomorrow after hearing the version of the prosecution and the defence.

Muhammed Ameerul Islam was found guilty under various sections of the IPC including 449 (house-trespass in order to commit offence punishable with death), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement), 302 (murder), 376 (rape) 376 (A) (causing death or causes the woman to be in persistent vegetative state while committing rape).

The accused, however, was not found guilty under 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and various sections under SC/ST (prevention of atrocities) amendment Act 2015 as the guilty was not in knowledge of the victim's caste.

The court praised the probe team for using scientific methods to establish the role of Islam in the crime.

The investigation team had used methods like DNA technology and verification of call record details to prove Ameerul's involvement in the crime.

The court also lauded the special public prosecutor and his team for conducting the case in a professional manner.

Welcoming the verdict, the victim's mother said the convict be given maximum punishment of death sentence.

"No girl should meet such a fate. It has been proved scientifically that Islam is the one who had committed the heinous crime.He should be hanged to send out a strong message to such elements," she told reporters outside the court.

She said she would appeal in the higher court if the punishment was less than death sentence.

Additional Director General of Police B Sandhya, who led the probe, welcomed the verdict.

She said the investigation team displayed professional skills in carrying out the probe scientifically.

Special Public Prosecutor N Unnikrishnan said the prosecution would seek maximum punishment for the convict as scientific investigation has established that he was the one who committed the heinous crime.

Defence lawyer B A Aloor said justice was denied for Islam in the case.

He said he would try to save Islam from death sentence.

The court had on December 6 completed hearing in the case and posted it for today for pronouncement of judgement.

Islam, a migrant labourer from Assam and the lone accused in the case, was charged with brutally raping and murdering the woman, a law student, at nearby Perumbavoor on April 28, 2016.

He was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Rules.

As many as 100 witnesses were examined during the trial, which commenced in April last.

The prosecution has described it as a rarest of rare case.

The woman, who hailed from a poor family, was brutally assaulted using sharp-edged weapons before being murdered at her house.

Islam, who had left Perumbavoor soon after committing the crime, was arrested from Kancheepuram in neighbouring Tamil Nadu, 50 days after the gruesome incident.

The incident was in focus during the state assembly polls campaign last year with political parties attacking the then Congress-led UDF regime for 'tardy' progress in the probe and 'failure' to nab culprits.

The LDF government, after assuming power on May 25 last year, changed the investigation team and entrusted the probe to ADGP B Sandhya in its first cabinet meeting itself.

More than 100 police personnel had questioned over 1,500 people.

Fingerprints of over 5,000 people were also examined by the SIT personnel, who went through over 20 lakh telephonic conversations before reaching Islam.

Police have said a blood stained footwear found from a canal near the victim's house was one of the key evidence in identifying the culprit.