Nearly 20 months after she was found brutally slain in her home, the Ernakulam Principal Sessions Court found Ameerul Islam guilty in the Jisha rape and murder case that rocked Kerala last year.
The court found Ameerul guilty of all charges except for destruction of evidence, and violations under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act. The court said that the charges under Sections 449 (trespass), 342 (wrongful confinement), 376 (rape), 376 (a) (causing death/resulting in persistent vegetative state) and 302 (murder) had been proved.
Following the verdict, Jisha's mother Rajeshwari said, "I hope no one else goes through what we did."
While the prosecution has asked for the death penalty, the quantum of punishment will be announced by the court on Wednesday.
Ahead of the verdict being delivered, Rajeshwari had told media persons that she wants Ameerul to be given the death sentence. "Give him maximum punishment. All evidence is against him. My daughter should get justice," Rajeshwari had said.
Jisha, a 30-year-old Dalit law student from Perumbavoor in Ernakulam, was raped and murdered in her home on April 28, 2016.
Shocked by the violence of the crime, people from across the state launched protests demanding justice for the young woman. That it had occurred to a Dalit woman struggling with poor conditions of life, and within her own home drove the anger further.
The police investigation into the crime took many twists and turns, with investigative teams being changed as pressure for a breakthrough in the case grew. On June 16, 49 days after Jisha was found dead, the police arrested Ameerul Islam – a migrant worker from Assam – from Kanchipuram in neighbouring Tamil Nadu. It was a black rubber slipper found near the scene of the crime that led the police to Ameerul.
On September 17 last year, the police submitted a 1,500-page chargesheet, in which Ameerul was named as the sole accused. Ameerul was charged under several sections of the IPC as well as under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act.
The trial, which began on April 4 this year, ran for 85 days. It was mainly based on material and scientific evidence, including DNA samples recovered from the scene of the crime. While the prosecution argued that it had clinching evidence in the case, Ameerul’s lawyer BA Aloor argued that the migrant worker was being framed. He pointed to a Vigilance report citing lapses in the investigation to support her claims.