Erode, Dec 20 (PTI) Four years after a brutal murder, a district judge in Gobichettipalayam near here on Wednesday awarded life sentence to four persons and acquitted three others accused of the crime.

The Third Additional District Judge of Gobichettipalayam passed orders in the case where Manimohan (53) and three others murdered Vijaykumar (35) brutally on September 21, 2019. This was after the victim allegedly sexually harassed Manimohan's wife.

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Manimohan's accomplices in the crime were his relative Nagarajan (30), friends Bhoopathyraja (39), Satishkumar (39), Vigneshwaran (24) and Sekar (24), who along with the victim were residents of Avvaiyarpalayam near Gobichettipalayam, police said.

Police said that after his wife raised an alarm, Manimohan ganged up with the others and caught hold of Vijaykumar in the village. While Manimohan forced pesticide into the victim's mouth, Bhoopathyraja rode his motorcycle over his neck, resulting in his death. All seven later fled the scene. The local police registered a murder case and later filed a chargesheet against the seven persons before the district court.

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After hearing the case, Dhayanidhi, the Third Additional District Judge awarded life sentence to Manimohan, Nagaraj, Bhoopathyraja and Satishkumar and acquitted the other three.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)