I am feeling relieved, says Priyadarshini Mattoo's killer

Santosh Kumar Singh, a former IPS officer's son who was convicted of raping and killing law student Priyadarshini Mattoo, today said he was relieved after the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence in the 14-year-old case.

"I am feeling relieved. I am happy and satisfied with the the court's judgment," he told jail officials who informed him about the apex court verdict.

The Supreme Court today commuted the death sentence of Singh to life imprisonment.

A bench of Justice HS Bedi and Justice CK Prasad upheld the conviction of Singh, then a law college student, for killing and raping Mattoo, his junior, but reduced the death sentence to life imprisonment, saying certain things were in his favour.

Singh, now lodged in Jail No 2 with 1,000 other prisoner, has spent almost seven years in Tihar jail.

The jail official said, "He had earlier spent over three years in jail from 1996 to 1999. After the CBI began the investigation he was again back in August 2006 and is here since then."