Brahmapur: A court in Odisha’s Ganjam district Wednesday sentenced two persons, including a 27-year-old woman, to life imprisonment for the murder of a mother and her seven-year-old son in 2024, a government counsel said.
Additional District Judge Sangeeta Pani sentenced G Devendra and D Gunnama of Chudialanjia village for the murder of D Neelabeni, 28, and her son, D Rushi, within Jarada police station limits February 19, 2024, Additional Public Prosecutor Santoshini Purohit said.
The court delivered the judgment after examining 39 witnesses, including police personnel, and scrutinising relevant documents, she said.
Police had recovered the bodies of the mother and son from their house February 19, 2024, and sent them for post-mortem.
Neelabeni’s husband, D Mohan Reddy, was working abroad at the time of the incident. The convicts were relatives of the deceased woman, Purohit said.
After registering a case, Jarada police arrested the convicts February 26, 2024. They have remained in judicial custody after their bail pleas were rejected, she said.
According to the prosecution, the covincts murdered the woman and her son after Neelabeni came to know about the alleged illicit relationship between the two convicts.
Police said Neelabeni had threatened to inform her husband about the relationship, following which Devendra allegedly conspired to kill her with Gunnama’s support.
On the evening of February 18, 2024, Gunnama allegedly visited Neelabeni’s house and secretly opened the lock of the terrace door.
Later that night, Devendra allegedly entered the house from the rear and strangled Neelabeni. Her son, who was sleeping nearby, woke up and witnessed the incident, police said.
Fearing that the child would reveal the crime, the accused allegedly smothered him to death, police added.