Man handed death penalty for killing 5, including 3 of his children

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru: A division of the Dharward Bench of the High Court of Karnataka has confirmed the death sentence on a man who killed five persons including his three minor children.

The HC has also issued several directions to the prosecution in cases where it is seeking the death penalty. "The atrocity of the crime resulting in five deaths including three children below 10 years of age and the brutality with which the same has been committed, leaves us no option but to confirm the order of death sentence passed by the trial court, which we do with a heavy heart.

“This in our considered opinion qualifies the test of rarest of rare cases requiring the award of death penalty," the bench of Justice Suraj Govindaraj and Justice G Basavaraja said disposing of two petitions filed by the convict and the State. These records, the court said, were necessary to issue directions to be followed in all cases where the prosecution seeks for award of the death penalty.

The accused Byluru Thippaiah, a labourer from Kenchanagudda Halli in Kampli, Hosapete, Ballari, suspected his wife of 12 years was having an affair which led to quarrels. They had four children, and Thippaiah declared that only one of them was born to him. On February 25, 2017, he attacked his wife Pakkeeramma with a chopper. He also attacked his sister-in-law Gangamma and his children Pavithra, Nagaraj and Rajappa. All the five succumbed to their injuries.

The Sessions Court at Ballari, which conducted the trial against him, examined 36 witnesses and 51 material objects before finding him guilty and awarded the death sentence on December 3, 2019 under Section 302 (murder) of the IPC and directed him "to be hung till death." Thippaiah approached the HC against the sentence imposed by the Trial Court while the prosecution approached the HC for confirmation of the death penalty.

The HC in its judgment said that it was shocked at the brutality. "The manner in which the offence has been committed by the appellant is having attacked two women and three children in the house, hacked them and chopped them resulting in multiple injuries being caused to them and the appellant coming out of the house and proclaiming that he has killed prostitutes while holding chopper covered in blood.

The same would shock the conscience of anybody and has indeed shocked our conscience, despite us having dealt with so many cases of offences relating to murder," the HC said. The HC while confirming the death sentence, ordered for payment of compensation to Rajeshwari, the only child that survived the massacre.