BENGALURU: “My father is bedridden and I have to take care of him. I have a wife and two children. I am the sole earning member in the family. I request you to reduce the punishment,” pleaded Kondappagiri Madhukar Reddy before the judge pronounced the sentence on Tuesday.
Reddy’s appeal in the 64th City Civil and Sessions Court was shocking as he had shown no mercy while assaulting bank employee Jyothi Uday inside the Corporation Bank ATM near Hudson Circle here on November 19, 2013. The CCTV footage of the attack, in which Reddy is seen repeatedly striking the helpless woman with a machete, was shocking in its brutality.
On Monday, public prosecutor MV Thyagaraj had demanded maximum punishment and took strong objection to Reddy’s appeal.
Judge Rajeshwara ordered Reddy to undergo rigorous imprisonment for ten years and pay a penalty of Rs 12,000.
Jyothi Uday told TOI: “I’m happy with the judgment. It was a long-awaited decision. My family and I suffered a lot because of him. I had confidence in the judiciary and police. Finally I got justice.”
The attack was a challenging case for police as Reddy managed to escape and was untraced till February 2017. Though more than 15 police teams searched for him, he was finally nabbed in Madanapalli, Andhra Pradesh. A police officer said: “The image of the woman begging him to spare her life is difficult to erase from one’s memory.”
Jyothi, while on her way to work, entered the ATM kiosk at 7.10am to withdraw money for her daughter’s birthday celebrations. Reddy followed her, downed the shutter and ordered her to give cash. When she tried to walk away, he struck her on the head and hit her before escaping. She was in a pool of blood, crawled to the shutter and screamed for help. Passers-by responded and alerted the police.
C Thimmaiah, then assistant commissioner of police (Ulsoorgate sub-division), investigated the case and filed a chargesheet. The trial started on June 29, 2017 and charges were framed against Reddy on January 14, 2019. Around 45 witnesses were mentioned in the chargesheet and 21 were examined and evidence recording was completed in August 2020. Thimmaiah said the victim’s role in the conviction was important. In her deposition, she narrated what transpired without any room for confusion and identified the accused when he was arrested.
Reddy is a resident of Divupalli, Chittoor district, and had a history of murders and robberies in Andhra Pradesh. Reddy confessed to have attacked Jyothi for money.
Public prosecutor Thyagaraj said Reddy used a dummy gun to threaten the victim and threw it in Kerala to destroy evidence. He said: “Apart from ten years’ rigorous imprisonment, Reddy must undergo simple imprisonment for one year if he fails to pay the fine of Rs 12,000. He received two years’ simple imprisonment for destroying evidence. The judge directed the district legal services authority to pay compensation to the victim."