Dr Vandana Das murder case: Accused Sandeep gets life imprisonment, ₹1 lakh fine
Kollam, Kerala: A Kerala court on Saturday sentenced G Sandeep to life imprisonment after convicting him in the sensational 2023 murder of young doctor Dr Vandana Das at a taluk hospital.
The Kollam Additional District and Sessions Court sentenced G Sandeep to a total of 30 years for various offences under the IPC and said that after he serves that, his life imprisonment for the murder of the doctor will commence, special public prosecutor (SPP) Prathap G Padickal told reporters. The court also directed Sandeep to pay ₹1 lakh fine.
The court had earlier found the accused guilty of multiple offences, including murder, destruction of evidence and wrongful restraint under the then IPC, along with provisions of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2012.
Sandeep was brought to the taluk hospital by the police for medical treatment during the small hours of May 10, 2023, and he went on a sudden attacking spree using a pair of surgical scissors kept in the room where his leg injury was being dressed.
A school teacher by profession, he had initially attacked the police officers and a private person who had accompanied him to the hospital and then turned on the young Dr Das who could not escape to safety.
She was stabbed several times and later succumbed to her injuries in a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram, where she was rushed following the attack.
Dr Das was a native of Kaduthuruthy area of Kottayam district and the only child of her parents. She was a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was working at the Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training.
Sandeep had called the emergency number 112, claiming that his life was in danger. When local police located him, he was standing 10-15 metres away from his home, surrounded by local residents and his relatives, and had a wound on his leg following an alleged quarrel.
He was then taken to the hospital for dressing on the wound.