Convict slits his throat in open court in Visakhapatnam

In a dramatic turn of events on Monday, a 25+-year-old man tried to end his life by slitting his throat in an open court hall in Visakhapatnam.

Rajanna Appala Naidu, resorted to the extreme step after he was sentenced to a 14-year jail term in a ganja smuggling case. Reportedly, Naidu took out a knife from his pocket and slit his throat as soon as the judgement was passed by the Metropolitan Session Judge S. Nagarjuna.

Apart from sentencing Naidu and five other convicts to 14 years in jail, the judge also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh on each one of them.

After the announcement of the judgement, the police noticed that Naidu fell down suddenly and was lying in a pool of blood.

“The convict was on bail at present. Since he has been appearing for trials, he might have expected that he could be convicted and while coming to court, he carried a small knife in his pocket,” II Town Inspector G.V. Ramana, the Investigation Officer, was quoted as saying by The Hindu.

Naidu has been admitted to Visakhapatnam’s KGH, where his condition is said to be critical. The accused, who hails from M.K. Patnam area in Visakhapatnam Agency, was held along with seven others while smuggling 292 kg of ganja in 2016.

With inputs from The Hindu