High Court rejects plea filed by accused in Vandana murder case

KOCHI: The Kerala High Court has rejected the discharge plea filed by Sandeep, the accused in the murder of Dr Vandana Das. It was Justice A Badharudeen who rejected the plea filed by Sandeep. In his plea, Sandeep had claimed that the murder charge would not stand in the case.

Sandeep filed the appeal in the High Court after the trial court rejected his discharge petition seeking the removal of his name from the charge sheet.

Earlier, the police had filed a charge sheet against Sandeep in the court. Sandeep demanded in his plea that this charge sheet should be cancelled and his name should be excluded from the case. However, the court rejected his demand stating that a trial should be conducted on the charge sheet filed by the police. The stay on the case's trial procedures has been lifted as a result of the court rejecting the accused's petition.

Dr Vandana Das, a house surgeon, was killed on May 10, 2023, while she was working at the Kottarakkara Taluk Hospital. The incident took place when Sandeep was brought to the Kottarakkara Taluk Hospital by the police for a medical checkup. While the hospital staff were treating his leg injury, Sandeep grabbed a pair of surgical scissors to stab a policeman and another person who had accompanied him to the hospital. He then turned towards Vandana and stabbed her multiple times.