The Thalassery Additional District Court (IV) in Kannur, Kerala, has sentenced a 64-year-old man to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹2.5 lakh for murdering his daughter’s husband following a family dispute. Judge J. Vimal delivered the verdict on Thursday (March 20, 2025).

The convict, K. Premarajan, a porter from Thirumangalam in Panthirankavu, Kozhikode, was found guilty of stabbing 27-year-old K.K. Sandeep to death near the old petrol pump at Chirakkara, Thalassery, on May 14, 2017.

Apart from the life imprisonment and the ₹2-lakh fine, the court awarded an additional 10-year term with a ₹50,000 fine for attempted murder. The sentences will run concurrently. If he fails to pay the fine, he will have to serve an extra one and a half years in prison.

The total fine amount of ₹2.5 lakh is to be given to Nimisha, Sandeep’s wife and daughter of the accused.

Dispute

The dispute arose over Sandeep’s financial situation and the health of his child, who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Sandeep was a former shoe shop employee, who later worked as employee filling cash in ATMs.

Premarajan reportedly believed his daughter’s marriage to Sandeep was the reason for the child’s condition. The tensions escalated after Sandeep refused to send his wife home following a fight with her parents.

A day before the incident, Premarajan’s wife, Suja, argued with Nimisha at Sandeep’s house. The next morning, Premarajan confronted Sandeep at his home at Chirakkara, took him away to the Thalassery-Valavupara road and fatally stabbed him with a knife he had purchased from Malappuram a month earlier.

Local residents rushed to the scene and Sandeep was taken to the hospital in an autorickshaw, but he succumbed to his injuries.

The police recovered the two-wheeler used by Premarajan from the crime scene.

The prosecution led by additional public prosecutor A. Reshma, examined 21 witnesses. The investigation was conducted by Thalassery CIs Pradeepan Kannipoyil and K. E. Premachandran.