A court in Kollam has sentenced G. Sandeep, a school teacher convicted in the brutal killing of Dr Vandana Das inside a hospital, to life imprisonment, while also awarding him a total of 30 years of rigorous punishment for multiple offences. The prosecution has indicated that it will appeal the verdict, seeking the death penalty, while the victim’s family has also demanded the maximum possible punishment.
The incident dates back to May 2023, when Dr Vandana Das was fatally attacked inside a taluk hospital. Delivering the sentence, Additional District and Sessions Judge P. N. Vinod ordered that Sandeep must first serve 30 years for various offences under the then Indian Penal Code. Only after completing this period will his life imprisonment for the murder begin, effectively extending the duration of his incarceration. The court also imposed a fine of ₹2.35 lakh on the convict.
Although the prosecution had argued for capital punishment, the court concluded that the case did not meet the “rarest of rare” threshold required to award the death sentence. The judge noted that there remained a possibility of reform, especially as the convict expressed remorse and stated that he intended to spend the rest of his life in repentance. At the same time, the court emphasised that the punishment must reflect the seriousness of the crime and act as a deterrent, which it sought to achieve by directing that the sentences run consecutively.
Following the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Prathap G. Padickal stated that he would recommend filing an appeal to enhance the sentence to the death penalty. Members of Dr Das’s family expressed mixed emotions—while acknowledging some relief at the conviction, they questioned whether true justice had been served. Her father indicated dissatisfaction with the punishment and suggested that further legal steps would be considered. Her mother, speaking emotionally, said the family could only hope for the harshest punishment, recalling the brutality of the attack in which her daughter was stabbed 27 times.
The court had earlier, on March 17, found Sandeep guilty of multiple charges, including murder, destruction of evidence, and wrongful restraint under the IPC. He was also convicted under provisions of the Kerala Healthcare Service Persons and Healthcare Service Institutions (Prevention of Violence and Damage to Property) Act, 2012.
The attack occurred in the early hours of May 10, 2023, when Sandeep was brought to the taluk hospital by police for treatment of a leg injury. While being treated, he suddenly turned violent and used a pair of surgical scissors to assault those present. He first attacked police personnel and another individual accompanying him, before turning on Dr Vandana Das, who was unable to escape. She sustained multiple stab wounds and was later declared dead at a private hospital in Thiruvananthapuram.
Dr Das, a native of Kaduthuruthy in Kottayam district, was the only child of her parents. She was working as a house surgeon at Azeezia Medical College Hospital and was posted at Kottarakkara taluk hospital as part of her training at the time of the incident.
Before the attack, Sandeep had dialled the emergency number 112, claiming that his life was in danger. When police reached the location, they found him near his residence with a leg injury, reportedly sustained during a dispute. He was then taken to the hospital for medical care, where the fatal incident later unfolded.
