Man who killed 2 while on bail; Chentamara faces gallows

Nenmara: Chenthamara (53), whose brutal crimes shocked Kerala, has been sentenced to death after committing double murder while on bail in an earlier murder case.

A resident of Boyan Colony, Chenthamara had earlier been jailed for the murder of Sajitha, wife of his neighbour Sudhakaran. After securing bail in that case, he allegedly hacked to death Sudhakaran (56) and his 75-year-old mother, Lakshmi, at Thiruthampadam in Pothundy. The verdict in the double murder case has come one-and-a-half years after the crime.

Observing that the case fell under the "rarest of rare" category, the court awarded Chenthamara death penalty.

The double murder took place in broad daylight on January 27, 2025. According to the prosecution, Chenthamara violated his bail conditions by returning to his home in Pothundy on the day of the incident. Sudhakaran, who had been working as a driver in Tiruppur for the past 12 years, used to return home on Sundays and leave the following day. At around 9.30 a.m. as he was leaving his house on a scooter, Chenthamara allegedly ran towards him and attacked him with a sword. Eyewitnesses said Sudhakaran sustained deep injuries to his hands, legs and neck and died on the spot. Hearing his cries, Lakshmi rushed out to intervene but was also hacked to death.

Before neighbours could react, Chenthamara allegedly fled to his house, hid the weapon in a cupboard, escaped through the back door and went absconding.

The murders sparked protests by relatives and local residents, who alleged that the police had failed to act despite being informed that Chenthamara had violated the bail condition prohibiting him from entering the Nenmara police station limits.

Earlier murder case

Chenthamara had allegedly murdered Sajitha on August 30, 2019, claiming that she and her family were responsible for the breakdown of his marriage. As the trial in that case was about to begin, police and prosecutors failed to convince the court to deny him bail, allowing him to secure release.

Although the police had sought a condition barring him from entering the Nenmara police station limits, the court only prohibited him from entering the Nenmara grama panchayat area.

Despite this, Chenthamara allegedly returned to his house on December 29 in violation of the bail conditions. He is accused of threatening to kill Sudhakaran and his family, as well as intimidating other neighbours. Following complaints from residents, Nenmara police summoned him to the station. However, instead of bringing him inside, the inspector reportedly spoke to him outside the station.

Relatives later alleged that the police delayed reporting the bail violation to the court and failed to seek cancellation of his bail in time.

After his release on bail, Chenthamara briefly worked as a security guard at the Panniyankara toll plaza. Investigators also examined whether he had taken up the job anticipating that Sudhakaran, a lorry driver, would regularly pass through the toll plaza.

Residents of Thiruthampadam expressed outrage after the murders, alleging that the police ignored a mass petition signed by local residents warning about Chenthamara's threats, and that this negligence ultimately paved the way for the double murder.