Kerala's Soumya Was Murdered, No Doubt, Says Doctor Who Did Autopsy

Thiruvananthapuram: A convict who raped a young woman on a rail track in 2011 after allegedly throwing her off a moving train in Kerala, was spared the death sentence on Thursday. Reducing Govindachamy's sentence to 14 years in jail, the Supreme Court said there was not enough evidence that 23-year-old Soumya had been murdered or pushed off the train.

The doctor who examined Soumya's wounded body has said that there was no doubt her death was murder, not an accident.

"The victim was in no condition to even escape or react after six severe head injuries were inflicted on her," Shirley Vasu told NDTV.

The Kerala government is examining whether to ask the court to review its verdict.

"The judgement is unfortunate... it's a fit case for capital punishment. Whether it's a revision petition or retrial we will have to see. Our lawyer did his best and we will consult the advocate general and the Chief Minister," said AK Balan, the state law minister.

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Soumya, who worked at a mall in Ernakulam, was returning home by train when she was attacked and robbed by Govindachamy, a serial offender. The prosecution told the court that he pushed her when she struggled.

Govindachamy also jumped off the train after her, hit her with a stone and raped her. Soumya died five days later.

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Dr Vasu said Soumya was bleeding when she fell on the tracks. "The rapist forced blood into her wind pipe, because of which we couldn't save her," she said.

The doctor is shocked at the turn that the case took yesterday after two courts held Govindachamy guilty of murder.

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Soumya's mother could barely speak when she told reporters, weeping and clutching her photo: "He did this to my daughter. And he will not even be hanged...My heart is broken. All this while I thought we will get justice. Nothing."

The family blamed lawyers for botching up the case. Dr Vasu agreed, saying: "My medical evidence survived two courts. It's unfortunate that the new prosecution lawyer did not consult me or the even the earlier lawyer. The medical evidence was not communicated to the top court with conviction."

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But the team of prosecution lawyers, who refused to speak on camera, told NDTV that the allegations made by the doctor were incorrect.

"At the stage when we were handed the case in Supreme Court, we were not needed to get in touch with the doctor. We have done our best, including putting the medical points across. We are now preparing details for a review petition on behalf of the state," one of them said.