New Delhi: A special court in Cuddalore on Friday awarded the death sentence to one person and life imprisonment to 12 others, including a serving inspector and a retired DSP, in a caste killing case dating back to 2003.The case pertains to the brutal murder of an inter-caste couple – S. Murugesan, 25, who was from the Dalit community and D. Kannagi, 22, who belonged to the Vanniyar community – from Kuppanatham near Vriddhachalam in the district by the woman’s family.They met at Annamalai University and entered into a relationship. They decided to get married in May 2003 without informing their families.According to the New Indian Express, the couple eloped and Murugesan asked Kannagi to stay in his relative’s house at Moongilthuraipattu in the then Villupuram district. Murugesan stayed at another relative’s house at Vannagudikadu in Cuddalore.Kannagi’s father was the panchayat president, who after finding out about the marriage launched a search. Her relatives found the couple on July 8, 2003 and brought them to Kuppanatham, according o the newspaper.They took them to the cremation ground in the village and murdered them by forcing them to consumer a poisonous liquid, in the presence of hundreds of villagers. Their bodies were cremated separately.On Friday, the Cuddalore district special court for Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe cases awarded the death sentence to Kannagi’s brother Maruthupandi, who was the main conspirator. Life term was awarded to the rest, including her father, a police inspector who was then sub-inspector and the retired DSP who had served as inspector then, for alleged mishandling of the case.The local police apparently tried to downplay the caste killing angle and instead filed cases against members of both families. Murugesan’s father Samikannu filed a petition in the Madras high court, seeking a transfer of the case to the CBI. In 2004, the investigating agency took over the probe into the case following the high court’s order.According to the New Indian Express, the investigating agency filed its chargesheet in March 2009, mentioning 15 people, including Kannagi’s father, elder brothers, two relatives of Murugesan, DSP Chellamuthu and inspector Tamilmaran as accused.Delivering his judgement on Friday morning, judge S. Uthamaraja released Murugesan’s relatives S. Ayyasamy and P. Gunasekaran, stating that they were “brought to the spot forcibly and so didn’t have a hand in the murder”. The other thirteen were found guilty.Former DSP Chellamuthu and inspector Tamilmaran were imposed a penalty of Rs 1.15 lakh and also ordered to give Rs 3 lakh each to Murugesan’s family. Judge Uthamaraja remarked, “The caste-related murders created a black mark for human society. Kannagi’s death should be the last in the land of Tamil Nadu.”(With PTI inputs)