Zeenews Bureau
Thrissur: A Fast Track court here on Friday sentenced the accused in the sensational murder case of Soumya who was pushed out of a moving train, raped and killed in February this year.
Judge Raveendra Babu had found the accused, Govindachamy (30) hailing from Tamil Nadu, guilty of the rape and murder. Special Prosecutor A Suresan had pleaded for the maximum punishment of death.
According to the prosecution, Govindachamy hailing from Virudhachalam in Tamil Nadu had assaulted 23-year-old Soumya in a deserted ladies` compartment on February 1 this year and pushed her out of the running train, immediately after it left the Vallathol Nagar station. He then carried her to a spot along the rail tracks and raped her `cruelly and brutally`. The accused had also injured her seriously resulting in her death on February 6.

Pressing for maximum punishment, the prosecution submitted that the accused was a `habitual offender` and produced documentary evidence from the Tamil Nadu Crime Bureau of Police that he had been convicted in eight cases in Tamil Nadu from 2004 to 2008.