The Ernakulam Special POCSO court on Wednesday sentenced Sanu Mohan to life imprisonment and 28 years rigorous imprisonment for killing his 13-year-old daughter Vaiga and imposed a fine of Rs 1,70,000.
The court had earlier found Sanu Mohan guilty of murdering his 13-year-old daughter Vaiga in the sensational case that shocked the state in 2021.
Special POCSO court Judge K Soman ordered that Sanu serve the 28-year imprisonment first followed by the life sentence. He was also directed to pay a fine of Rs 1,70,000.
Though Sanu pleaded for leniency in his sentence citing there was nobody to look after his 70-year-old mother, the court did not consider it. The prosecution had asked the court to consider the case as rarest of the rare and sentence Sanu to death.
Vaiga was found dead in Muttar river on March 23, 2021. As Vaiga had left the home with her father to meet a relative, police initially suspected that Mohan might have died by suicide along with her.
On March 21, Sanu Mohan left his wife at her house on the pretext of visiting his relative along with Vaiga. He instead went to his flat in Kangarappady in Kochi.
At the flat, he gave alcohol-laced drinks to Vaiga and smothered her by pressing a cloth on her face. He then also strangled her using his arms.
After this, Mohan took the unconscious child to the banks of Muttar river. He allegedly placed her body in a vertical position in the water. The child drowned in the river on March 21. Her body was found two days later.
As per his confession, Sanu Mohan had decided to die by suicide due to his debt and wanted to kill Vaiga first.