Mon Sep 22 14:43:23 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and rewritten news article based on the provided text:
**Summary:**
A court in Thiruvananthapuram, India, has sentenced Praveen of Kollam to life imprisonment for the 2022 murder of Gayathri. Praveen, who was married, had an affair with Gayathri, a coworker. When Gayathri discovered he was married and demanded he marry her, Praveen staged a fake marriage ceremony. When Praveen’s wife discovered the affair, he was transferred for work. When Gayathri threatened to expose their relationship, Praveen lured her to a lodge and strangled her. The prosecution successfully built a case based on circumstantial and forensic evidence, including medical reports, fingerprint evidence, and mobile phone data.
**News Article:**
**Indian Man Sentenced to Life for Murdering Lover Who Threatened to Expose Affair**
**THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, INDIA – September 22, 2025** – A Thiruvananthapuram court today sentenced Praveen, a resident of Kollam, to rigorous life imprisonment for the murder of Gayathri, which occurred three years ago in a Thampanoor lodge. The court also imposed a fine of ₹1 lakh.
Judge Siju Sheik found Praveen guilty of murdering Gayathri, a native of Veeranakavu near Kattakada, on March 5, 2022. The case gripped the local community, revealing a tangled web of infidelity and violence.
According to the prosecution, Praveen, already married with two children, had an affair with Gayathri while working together at a jewelry store. The situation escalated when Gayathri learned of Praveen’s marriage and demanded he divorce his wife to marry her. In a deceptive attempt to appease her, Praveen staged a sham marriage ceremony.
The affair unraveled when Praveen’s wife discovered the relationship and alerted the jewelry store management, resulting in Praveen’s transfer to Tamil Nadu. In a desperate attempt to end the affair, Praveen demanded that Gayathri end their relationship. However, Gayathri’s refusal to comply, compounded by her threat to post photos from their marriage ceremony on social media, allegedly triggered Praveen’s deadly act.
He lured Gayathri to a lodge where he strangled her with a shawl, initially claiming she had died by suicide. With no eyewitnesses, the prosecution meticulously built its case on circumstantial and forensic evidence. Crucially, medical reports showed that the injuries on Gayathri’s neck were inconsistent with suicide and indicative of strangulation. Fingerprint evidence from the lodge room matched Praveen’s, and mobile phone data placed both the victim and the accused at the scene of the crime.
The successful prosecution demonstrates the power of forensic science and meticulous investigation in bringing perpetrators of even seemingly unwitnessed crimes to justice.
First Piper 