Latvian tourist murder case: Kerala court sentences 2 men to life imprisonment
Convicts Umesh and Udayakumar, who were found guilty of the rape and murder of Liga Skromane, were also ordered to pay a fine of Rs 1.65 lakh each.
2 min read
The two men were found guilty of the rape and murder of a Latvian tourist in 2018. (File)An additional district sessions court in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday sentenced two men to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of the rape and murder of a Latvian tourist in 2018.
The court also ordered the convicted, Umesh, 24, and Udayakumar, 28, both natives of Panathura near Thiruvananthapuram, to pay a fine of Rs 1.65 lakh each.
According to the prosecution, Liga Skromane, a 33-year-old tourist who had come to Kerala from Ireland, went missing from an Ayurvedic treatment centre in Thiruvananthapuram on March 14, 2018. A month later, her highly decomposed body was recovered from a mangrove forest near Kovalam beach on April 21.
The police arrested Umesh and Udayakumar under sections 302 (murder) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 20(b) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act and said they were involved in several criminal cases.
According to the prosecution, the accused lured Liga to the spot, made her consume ganja and then sexually assaulted and strangled her.
Then a resident of Ireland, Liga had come to Kerala seeking Ayurvedic treatment for depression and skin disease. She was in Kerala along with her husband Andrew and younger sister IIze Skromane.
The case got media attention after IIze took it upon herself to track her missing sister. Apart from registering a missing complaint with the local police, IIze went to several locations to trace her sister and had even declared a reward for information on Liga’s whereabouts.
You May Like
Photos
