Retired army officer K Ramaraj was sentenced to life imprisonment by a fast-track court on Friday for killing a 13-year-old boy who had entered his residential premises to collect fruit.
The court also levied on the retired lieutenant colonel, 50, a fine of Rs 60,000, of which Rs 50,000 must be given to the family of the victim, K Dilshan, said a prosecution lawyer.
The judge also found Ramaraj guilty on two other counts and awarded him prison terms of three years and one year, respectively, besides another fine of Rs 10,000 for using a gun whose licence had expired. All the sentences will run together.
“Justice has been done and this will serve as a warning to every one," Dilshan's mother, K Kalaivani, said after additional district and sessions judge R Radha gave the verdict.
Kalaivani thanked Tamil Nadu chief minister J Jayalalithaa, who had ordered a police probe into the July 3, 2011, incident, which had created an uproar because of alleged attempts at cover-up.
Investigation revealed that Ramaraj had shot the boy in a fit of rage and he had destroyed evidence by throwing the weapon in the Cooum river, some 10 km from the crime spot.
{{/usCountry}}Investigation revealed that Ramaraj had shot the boy in a fit of rage and he had destroyed evidence by throwing the weapon in the Cooum river, some 10 km from the crime spot.
{{/usCountry}}Ramaraj, who retired from the army three months before the incident, had acquired the gun in 2004, when he was posted in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh.
With inputs from IANS