The victim’s family, from Vattaloor in Malappuram district, had demanded Rs 30 lakh as ‘blood money’ for pardoning Athimuthu. (File) The victim’s family, from Vattaloor in Malappuram district, had demanded Rs 30 lakh as ‘blood money’ for pardoning Athimuthu. (File)

A Tamil man who was facing the death penalty in Kuwait for murder had his sentence commuted to life imprisonment by the government after his family managed to raise the Rs 30 lakh compensation, or ‘blood money’, to pay the victim’s family

Athimuthu, who was on death row, hails from Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu. According to a report published in The Hindu, Athimuthu had been sentenced to death in Kuwait for killing a Keralite, Abdul Wajid, in September 2013.

Manorama English reports that the murder took place following “a verbal spat between the two, who were working in the same company”.

The victim’s family from Malappuram district in Kerala had demanded Rs 30 lakh as ‘blood money’ to pardon Athimuthu.

Athimuthu’s family had managed to raise only Rs 5 lakh and the approached Sayed Munawwarali Shihab Thangal, a Muslim leader from Kerala, to raise the remaining amount.

“The victim’s family too is poor. From their perspective, their demand for blood money has been just,” Munawwarali was quoted as saying in The Hindu report. The amount raised was paid to the victim’s family, after which the death sentence was commuted.

‘Blood money’ is the amount given to the victim’s family as compensation to commute a death sentence.

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