'Hang Me If You Want, I'm Not Gandhi': 61-Year-Old Remorseless Convict Gets Death Sentence In Nenmara Double Murder Case

Palakkad: The Additional District and Sessions Court in Palakkad, Kerala, sentenced 61-year-old Chenthamara to the death penalty on Monday, July 20, 2026.

The severe penalty comes after the court found him guilty of the brutal double murder of his neighbour, Sudhakaran (56), and Sudhakaran's mother, Lakshmi (75), in Pothundi village near Nenmara.

The convict executed the double murder while out on bail for previously murdering a woman from the same family.

The case, which the prosecution successfully argued fell into the "rarest of rare" category, was the culmination of a deeply entrenched, delusional grudge.

Chenthamara blamed Sudhakaran’s family for his own marital breakdown and the disintegration of his family.

This vendetta initially led him to hack Sudhakaran’s wife, Sajitha, to death in August 2019. While out on bail during the pendency of the 2019 murder trial, Chenthamara violated his bail conditions and returned to the locality.

On January 27, 2025, armed with a machete, he ambushed and killed Sudhakaran outside his home, subsequently murdering Lakshmi when she rushed out after hearing her son's cries. 

The double-murder trial featured extensive scientific evidence, forensic reports, and testimonies from numerous witnesses.

The case also triggered widespread public scrutiny regarding local policing, as the victims' surviving family members had repeatedly warned authorities about Chenthamara's presence and explicit death threats while he was free on bail.

What sealed the absolute severity of the judicial response was the convict’s complete lack of remorse. 

Judge Kenneth George delivered the death sentence after the prosecution and a district probation officer maintained that Chenthamara posed a continuous, unreformable threat to society, specifically to Sudhakaran's surviving daughters.

Addressing the court upon his conviction, Chenthamara stated: “Hang me if you want. I have nothing to tell the court; I am not Mahatma Gandhi to show the other cheek if someone slaps me. If necessary, I will kill more people."

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