Court awards death penalty to Hameed in Cheenikuzhi murder case, slaps fine of Rs 5 lakh

THODUPUZHA: The Thodupuzha Court awarded death penalty to Hameed, the accused in the Cheenikuzhi murder case. The accused should serve ten years in prison for barging into the house and creating issues. The court had earlier found Hameed guilty in the case of locking his own son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters in the house and setting them on fire.

Hameed had set the house on fire killing his son Muhammed Faizal (45) of Cheenikuzhi, Udumbannur, Thodupuzha, his wife Sheeba (40) and their children Meharin (16) and Asna (13) on March 19, 2022. This act had shocked the entire hometown. No one could believe that their own grandfather had killed his two granddaughters. The case is that Hameed threw bottles filled with petrol into the bedroom and set them on fire.

After making sure that Faisal and his family are asleep, Hameed drained all the water from the water tank at home. He also snapped the power to the motor that was pumping water to the neighboring house. Then, after locking the bedroom door from outside, he lit two petrol bottles and threw them through the window. Faisal and his family woke up screaming as the fire broke out and tried to douse the flames, but there was no water.

Rahul, their neighbour came running and tried to stop Hameed, but he threw more petrol bottles through the window again. The neighbors who woke up after hearing the screams and explosions could not enter the house. The police arrested Hameed on the same day of the incident.

In addition to the crucial witness statements and circumstantial evidence, the accused confessed to the crime, and so the proceedings were completed quickly and a charge sheet was filed. Special public prosecutor advocate M Sunil Maheswaran Pillai appeared for the prosecution. The prosecution examined 71 witnesses and the defense examined three witnesses. The prosecution presented 139 documents, including electronic devices, to the court as evidence.