Chennai: Man who killed pregnant wife for going against his beliefs gets life term

CHENNAI: More than 12 years after a man murdered his pregnant wife and her son from a previous marriage, for acting against his religious beliefs, a city court sentenced him to imprisonment for life.

On Nov 14, 2011, David, who had converted to Christianity, was angry that his wife Gunasundari and her son Maheshkumar went to a temple despite him warning them not to. Family members tried to correct the situation by advising Gunasundari, who was staying with her mother at their home in New Washermenpet, not to do things 'disliked' by David, whose original name was Raju.

The same night, he stabbed both of them using a knife and tried to attack his mother-in-law, who escaped to inform her son Nithyanandam (brother of the deceased) living in the neighbourhood. They immediately informed the police, who later recovered the bodies and arrested David.

Neighbours, who saw David coming out the house and shouting that his wife had cheated him, testified in the court about the incident and about frequent quarrels between the couple and family.

Before moving to her mother's house in New Washermenpet, Gunasundari eloped with David and they were living together in Andhra Pradesh. A few years prior to this, she lost her husband and was living alone with her son Maheshkumar.

She lived with David only for a short period before a four-month pregnant Gunasundari returned to her mother's home as she was falling sick frequently. Though David came frequently to take her back to Andhra Pradesh, Gunasundari's mother Nagavalli postponed it by stating that she would return after her health improved.

Evidence submitted for trial confirmed that on the day of the incident, David murdered them when they were asleep, said special public prosecutor B Aarathi. Forensic findings too confirmed the same.

Sessions judge T H Mohammed Farooq ordered David to undergo life imprisonment and pay ₹15,000 as compensation to his mother-in-law Nagavalli for her loss and injuries. Since this amount is insufficient to rehabilitate her, the judge recommended that the District Legal Service Authority award suitable compensation.


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