Attingal double murder: SC grants bail to Anu Shanthi on health issues

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court granted bail to Anu Shanthi, the accused in the Attingal double murder case. Bail was granted on health grounds. The bail will be until the high court decides on her plea filed to quash the sentence.

The court had earlier sent a notice to the state government on the plea filed by Anu Shanthi demanding to freeze the sentence and grant bail. The plea was filed stating that she has no involvement in the murders and that she has health issues. The Supreme Court had ignored the objection of the state government and had earlier granted two months parole to Anu Shanthi for her eye treatment following myopia, a condition where one loses vision. Anu Shanti, who lost the sight of one eye due to myopia, was given a two-month parole on the grounds that she would lose the sight of the second eye if she did not get treatment. Anu Shanthi, who returned after the treatment, is presently in jail.

The Thiruvananthapuram Principal Sessions Court had awarded double life imprisonment to Anu Shanthi and death sentence to co-accused and lover Nino Mathew in the case of murdering her own child and mother-in-law. The case is that Anu Shanthi killed her four-year-old child Swasthika and her husband's mother Omana with the help of her boyfriend.

Anu Shanthi fell in love with her colleague Nino Mathew while working in Technopark. The pictures of the house and the pics of the way to reach the house sent by Anu Shanthi to Nino turned crucial in the case. The court levelled harsh criticisms against the accused while awarding the sentence.