Kochi: The second accused in a case involving the sexual assault of a woman under the promise of marriage and the extortion of Rs 5 lakh has been sentenced to three years in prison and fined Rs 5.50 lakh by the Additional District Sessions Court here.

Judge C.K Madhusoodanan, who presided over the case, noted that if the second accused Vineetha fails to pay the fine, she will face an additional six months in jail.

Vineetha's husband, Rajeev, who was the primary accused, had the charges against him dropped after he passed away during the trial.

A woman from Champakara, Ernakulam, was deceived by Vineetha and Rajeev. Posing as brother and sister, the couple befriended the woman and her family. 

After successfully creating a good relationship with the family, Rajeev convinced the woman to marry him. The couple then extorted about Rs 5 lakh from the woman’s mother under various pretexts.

Later, Vineetha and Rajeev took the woman and her mother to a temple in Tamil Nadu, where Rajeev and the woman were married in a traditional ceremony. After the marriage, Rajeev sexually assaulted the woman. The criminal activities were exposed when the accused demanded additional money from the woman's mother, which led to their arrest.

The investigation was led by Circle Inspectors C.K. Uthaman and Baiju Paulose, who submitted the charge sheet to the court. The prosecution team included Additional Public Prosecutors Adv. C.D. Justin and K. Jyothi.