Prosecution fumbles as apex court seeks evidence in Soumya murder case
- Prosecution argued that Soumya was killed by the accused Govindachami by pushing her off a running train.
- Govindachami, the single-handed beggar, was awarded death sentence by trial court.
- Accused approached Supreme Court seeking to annul capital punishment
- Apex court demanded prosecution to prove beyond doubt whether victim was pushed or jumped off the train.
FollowThe prosecutor, who appeared for Kerala Government in the sensational rape and murder of Soumya fumbled before Supreme Court on Thursday when the bench asked for evidence to prove that the murder was committed by Govindachami, the death convict in the case. The govt. Counsel could not give a convincing reply to the court, exposing holes in the evidence presented by the prosecution in the shocking rape and subsequent murder took place on board a running train in Kerala in 2011. Â Â
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 The apex court asked whether the prosecution had evidence to prove that the accused pushed Soumya, 23, off the train and killed her. There was no doubt that Soumya was raped, the court said. And she died of a head injury suffered after falling from the train. Â
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The prosecution should prove beyond doubt whether Govindachami pushed the victim off the train. A three-member-bench of the SCÂ also warned the prosecution against furnishing guesses as evidence. The counsel should convince the bench that the murder was committed by the accused, the court said while considering an appeal filed by Govindachami seeking annulment of his death sentence. However, the prosecutor failed to give any satisfactory reply to this query.Â
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 Soumya, 23, was found on a railway track at Shoranur in critical condition on 1 February 2011. Govindachami, 33, a physically challenged beggar, allegedly threw her off from the lady’s compartment of the train during a robbery attempt and raped her on the track. The victim succumbed to her injuries on 6 February.  The police arrested Govindachami, a single-handed vagabond, On February 3 from Cuddalore.  The incident triggered an outrage and raised serious safety concerns of female passengers in trains.Â
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Thrissur Fast Track Court found the accused guilty and awarded capital punishment. The Kerala High Court confirmed the death sentence considering it as one of the rarest of rare cases. Following this, the accused approached Supreme Court requesting to nullify capital punishment.Â
