Sister Abhaya murder case: Parents can finally rest in peace, says victim's brother after priest and nun get lifer

A special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) court in Thiruvananthapuram found accused Thomas Kotoor and Sister Sefi guilty of murdering Sister Abhaya, a plus-two student, who was found dead in the well of the Pious X Convent in Kottayam in March 1992.

The state police had initially dismissed it as suicide, but CBI later determined it as a murder.

The two have been charged under Section 302 (murder) and Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In addition to sentencing them to life imprisonment, on Wednesday, Judge K Sanil Kumar has also ordered Kotoor to pay Rs 6.5 lakh and Sefi to pay Rs 5.5 lakh as a penalty.

The priest has been asked to pay an additional Rs 1 lakh as fine as he was also found guilty of trespassing the Pious Tenth Convent, where Sister Abhaya was found dead.

Meanwhile, Biju Thomas, a Dubai resident and elder brother of Sister Abhaya, said it was only “divine intervention” that led to the findings by the special court.

Biju told Khaleej Times that the verdict should have come earlier, when his parents were alive, nonetheless, he hailed it as a justice for his deceased sister, who died at the age of 19.

"My parents died in 2016 not knowing what happened to their daughter. Finally, they can rest in peace," Biju told the Middle-Eastern news outlet.

"I cannot say I am happy, but there is some closure and peace that I feel now. I can finally put this tragedy behind me," he added.

Biju has spent several years roaming in courts, hoping for justice for his sister.

He said he had taken a break from his work in Gujarat, following his sister's death, for one and a half years, but had to leave as the family was in financial crisis.

Biju also hailed his parents and their will to fight for their daughter, stating, "I had given up, but my parents had not. In 2014, the case was closed. It was divine intervention… everything about this case has God’s hand in it,” he said.

"My wife was only five-year-old when Beena (Sister Abhaya) died. I have three kids of my own now,” Biju said of his family.

He also thanked the media for not forgetting about the case.

Meanwhile, hailing the judgement, Joemon Puthanpurakal, Convener of Sister Abhaya Action Council, said: "The judge has acted as a representative of God; after 28 years, Sister Abhaya has got justice. It's God's will to give maximum punishment to the culprits, who committed the cold-blooded murder."

"I will fight till the last as these culprits will move the higher courts to get relief. I will go to any extent to see to it that this judgment is upheld," he said.

Former CBI Deputy SP, Varghese P Thomas, who was the first to come out with the report that Sister Abhaya was murdered, said "It's a clear judgment and both convicts given maximum punishment just short of death penalty."

"Justice has been upheld. It shows that truth can prevail even after so many years," said the former CBI Deputy SP, who was forced to take voluntary retirement from service after his seniors opposed his findings in the murder case.