Palakkad: A special court in Mannarkkad on Sunday sentenced a couple to life imprisonment for the 2016 murder of 71-year-old Nabeesa.

Speaking to the media after the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor P. Jayan highlighted the critical role of forensic science in securing the conviction.

"People may sometimes lie, but science never lies," Jayan said, emphasizing how circumstantial and scientific evidence helped compensate for the absence of direct evidence in the case.

Nabeesa was murdered on June 23, 2016, by her daughter’s son, Basheer (45), and his wife Faseela (36). The couple took Nabeesa to a rented house where they allegedly poisoned her food and forcibly made her consume the poison, later dumped her body and made it look like a suicide.

The case relied heavily on circumstantial evidence due to the absence of direct witnesses. According to Jayan, the scientific findings, particularly forensic examination, were decisive in proving the guilt of the accused.

"The forensic examination revealed that the hair of the deceased found at the crime scene was the same as the hair collected by the doctor during the postmortem," he explained. Additionally, it was established that the poison found in Nabeesa's stomach was identical to the substance she was forcibly made to ingest.

The defence in the case had claimed that Nabeesa's death was a suicide, citing a fake suicide note purportedly written by the victim. However, Jayan highlighted that medical evidence refuted this claim.

"The doctor explained the critical difference between voluntarily consuming poison and having it forcibly administered... In Nabeesa's case, the presence of poison in her lungs indicated it was not consumed willingly. The court concluded that the poison was brutally poured into her mouth," said Jayan.

All the circumstantial evidence presented during the investigation was linked together, leading to the conclusion that it was a murder, not a suicide. "The incident occurred during Ramzan, and Nabeesa first went to her house in Chirakkalpadi to break her fast in the evening. She was then picked up by the said relatives from Mannarkad while returning. Shopkeepers along the route identified the items she had bought, further corroborating the timeline of events," the prosecutor added. These details, combined with forensic evidence, helped build a strong case against the accused.

The Mannarkkad Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Special Court, under Judge Jomon John, sentenced Basheer and Faseela to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs. 2 lakh on them.