CHENNAI: A nine-year-old girl appeared in a Chennai court to recount in chilling detail how her father killed her mother and grandfather, closing a case that hinged on her testimony and leading the judge to convict and sentence accused Abdul Khader to life imprisonment for the double murder.
The child’s appearance at Chennai’s Mahila court for final day of the trial had those present gaping as she spoke of helplessly witnessing her father striking her mother Ghouse Unisa and grandfa ther Musafar with beer bottles and a pressure cooker.
The killings were reported on May 8, 2021, in a Royapettah house where Unisa had been living with her daughter and father after being estranged from Khader, 53.
The couple had married after Unisa divorced her first husband. They had a daughter soon after, but the relationship hit a rough patch and Unisa was forced to move out to avoid daily quarrels, according to case diary.
After Unisa rented a house to live separately, her daughter from her first marriage also moved in. Khader would frequently visit the house and fight with his wife, prompting Unisa to bar him from meeting their child.
On the day of crime, when Unisa’s elder daughter was at work, Khader entered the home and assaulted Unisa and Musafar. When his minor daughter tried to intervene, he slammed her against a wall.
Landlord Layak Alikhan checked on the family after hearing the girl’s cries and claimed to have seen Khader attacking Unisa. Alikhan alerted his son and the victim’s elder daughter, who contacted police immediately and had Khader arrested.
Although CCTV footage showed Khader entering the crime scene, prosecution couldn’t find evidence of his departure. “This is when the child’s testimony proved pivotal as she recollected the events clearly and coherently during the trial,” said special public prosecutor B Aarathi.
Judge TH Mohammed Farooq, noting child’s remarkable memory amid the trauma of losing her mother and grandfather, dismissed the defence counsel’s suggestion that she had been “tutored”.
Based on the eyewitness accounts and forensic evidence, the court found Khader guilty of two counts of murder under Section 302 of IPC.
The child’s appearance at Chennai’s Mahila court for final day of the trial had those present gaping as she spoke of helplessly witnessing her father striking her mother Ghouse Unisa and grandfa ther Musafar with beer bottles and a pressure cooker.
The killings were reported on May 8, 2021, in a Royapettah house where Unisa had been living with her daughter and father after being estranged from Khader, 53.
The couple had married after Unisa divorced her first husband. They had a daughter soon after, but the relationship hit a rough patch and Unisa was forced to move out to avoid daily quarrels, according to case diary.
After Unisa rented a house to live separately, her daughter from her first marriage also moved in. Khader would frequently visit the house and fight with his wife, prompting Unisa to bar him from meeting their child.
On the day of crime, when Unisa’s elder daughter was at work, Khader entered the home and assaulted Unisa and Musafar. When his minor daughter tried to intervene, he slammed her against a wall.
Landlord Layak Alikhan checked on the family after hearing the girl’s cries and claimed to have seen Khader attacking Unisa. Alikhan alerted his son and the victim’s elder daughter, who contacted police immediately and had Khader arrested.
Although CCTV footage showed Khader entering the crime scene, prosecution couldn’t find evidence of his departure. “This is when the child’s testimony proved pivotal as she recollected the events clearly and coherently during the trial,” said special public prosecutor B Aarathi.
Judge TH Mohammed Farooq, noting child’s remarkable memory amid the trauma of losing her mother and grandfather, dismissed the defence counsel’s suggestion that she had been “tutored”.
Based on the eyewitness accounts and forensic evidence, the court found Khader guilty of two counts of murder under Section 302 of IPC.