The decision of the Supreme Court to commute the death sentence awarded to Govindachamy, who had raped and murdered 23-year-old Soumya in February 2011 after allegedly pushing her out of a moving train, was 'heart breaking', the mother of the victim, said.
"My daughter was done to death so cruelly. This is a heart breaking verdict", Sumathy, Saumya's mother, told reporters at her home at Shornur in Palakkad district this morning soon after the verdict, commuting the death sentence to seven year jail term after dropping the murder charge against him.
Describing the verdict as the 'failure' of the state prosecutor to 'properly' represent the case in the Apex Court, Sumathy said she would not give up her fight to get justice for her daughter, who was the only breadwinner in her family and that she would file a revision petition.
"I will file a revision petition. I will continue to fight until I get justice. I will meet the Chief Minister and tell him my pain", a sobbing Sumathy said.
Saumya, working in a shopping mall in Ernakulam, was travelling alone in the ladies compartment of Erakulam-Shornur passenger train on the night of February 1 2011 after work when she was attacked by Tamil Nadu native Govindachamy and died six days later.
"I was waiting all this while hoping my daughter will get justice", Sumathy said.
Pointing that there was much evidence against the accused, she said his hair was found from Soumya's body and her nails had his skin parts. "Isn't that the biggest evidence?"
The prosecution case was that Soumya, travelling alone in the ladies compartment on Feb 1, 2011, had been attacked and pushed off the train by the one armed accused. He also jumped off, carried her on her shoulders at a wooded area at Vallotholnagar near the rail tracks, brutally raped and murdered her.
The Thrissur Fast Track court had awarded death sentence to Govindachamy on Nov 11, 2011, nine months after the rape and murder of Soumya, which shook the state's conscience.
A division bench of Kerala High Court had confirmed the sentence, observing that the incident had sent 'tremors' in society and 'shook the collective conscience of the community'.
The bench, comprising Justices T R Ramachandran and B Kemal Pasha, had held that the court was not expected to shut its eyes and close its ears to the cries of society for justice.
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