The Irish partner of a woman brutally murdered in India four years ago has said the real culprits have escaped justice after two men were jailed for life yesterday.
Andrew Jordan, 46, said he had no faith in the country’s legal system following the sentencing.
Liga Skromane, 33, who was originally from Lativa but had been living in Ireland, travelled to Kerala with her sister Ilze to seek Ayurvedic treatment to cure depression in 2018.
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She vanished on March 14 after telling her sibling she was going out to buy cigarettes.
Her decapitated body was found 38 days later on April 21 by two fishermen in an isolated mangrove forest in Kovalam. It was nearly 30km away from the wellness centre in Pothencode where she was receiving treatment.
Last week, Umesh, 31, and Udayan, 28, were found guilty of rape, murder, abduction, and the sale of a narcotic substance following a court hearing in the state capital of Thiruvananthapuram. Their trial began in June of this year.
Liga’s distraught partner Andrew blasted the sentences and said it was a “token gesture”.
Speaking exclusively to The Irish Mirror, Andrew said: “The two young lads, as guilty as they are of other crimes, they’re not the culprits in this one.
“The true culprit is probably able to buy himself out of trouble, because that’s the way things work over there.
“But I don’t shed any tears for them being stuck in prison, because I know that they’re not nice people.
So they probably got what was coming to them.”
Both men had pleaded not guilty and demanded a polygraph test to prove their innocence after the verdict was delivered according to reports.
The court said they lured the Latvian tourist with marijuana and that they “drugged her heavily” before raping and strangling her.
Judge K Sanil Kumar said Umesh and Udayanwill remain in prison until they die and said they will not be eligible for remission or parole.
They were also ordered to pay 165,000 Indian rupees (€1,903) each, to the victim’s family.
Special public prosecutor G Mohan Raj said: “The verdict will have a strong deterrence effect and is a better punishment than death.
“We are satisfied over the judgment.” Andrew, who is from Swords in Dublin, did not travel to yesterday’s hearing and said the trial was “just theatre”.
He said the prosecution’s series of events had “so many holes” that “it was like a teabag”.
When asked if he ever thought he’ll get justice, Andrew said it was “unlikely” and he wasn’t holding out too much hope.
Andrew added: “Unless somebody comes out and their conscience gets the better of them … there’s a very strong organised crime syndicate over there … so if anyone did have any evidence and had come forward, they would have been quickly hushed up and threatened.
“Maybe this trial will bring something to the surface, but other than that, I don’t really hold out much hope for the truth coming out on its own.”
Andrew, who had been in a relationship with Liga for four years, said life has been “hell” since her murder.
He described her as “the most generous kind person you’d ever meet”.
Andrew also made clear he doesn’t hold “India or its people to blame for this”.
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