A court in Kerala’s Kollam will on Wednesday decide the quantum of punishment for man who was found guilty of killing his wife using a cobra. The court on Monday convicted P Sooraj of murder by letting loose a cobra on his wife she was sleeping, and forcing it to bite her, saying the convict did not deserve any sympathy for this heinous crime. The prosecution sought capital punishment for the 32-year-old.

Sooraj was found guilty on Monday under IPC sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 328 and 201 after the prosecution had argued that he killed her on May 7, 2020, using a cobra after drugging her.

Uthra, his 25-year-old wife, suffered a bite at her home while she was undergoing treatment for another snake bite she suffered. It emerged during the investigation that the incident, involving a viper, was also orchestrated by the husband. She managed to recover from the first bite, but could not survive the second.

During the probe, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) found a local snake handler Suresh, who later turned an approver. He admitted to training Sooraj to handle the snake and even providing him with the reptile. On May 6, 2020, after Uthra fell asleep, Sooraj allegedly threw the snake on her. He also provoked it to bite her twice.

The case surfaced in May last year after Uthra’s parents filed a police complaint two days after her death alleging Sooraj and his family members harassed their daughter for dowry. The couple had been married for two years at the time of the murder. In an attempt to mislead investigators, Sooraj’s parents filed a counter-complaint against Uthra’s brother saying he wanted to usurp her father’s property. Uthra’s parents told the investigators that her in-laws frequently harassed her for more dowry. They said they gave 90 sovereigns of gold, ₹5 lakh cash and a car to them.