The Kerala High Court on Friday acquitted Parimal Sahu, an Assam native, who had been awarded the death sentence for the rape and murder of a 60-year-old widow at Puthenvelikkara in Ernakulam in 2018.

A Division Bench of Justice A.K. Jayasankaran Nambiar and Justice Jobin Sebastian observed that scientific evidence placed before the court did not assist the prosecution in proving the migrant worker’s involvement in the crime. On the contrary, it tended to support the accused’s claim of innocence.