Pudukottai district Mahila court sentenced a 25-year-old man to death for the sexual assault and murder of a seven year old Dalit girl. The verdict was pronounced on Tuesday for the crime that shook the district in June 2019.
Mahila Court judge R Sathya sentenced Samivel alias Raja to death under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and also under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for sexual assault and murder. He was also sentenced to life imprisonment and seven years imprisonment for kidnapping a child and trying to destroy evidence.
According to reports, the court also fined Raja Rs 10000 and directed the state government to provide Rs 5 lakh compensation to the girl’s family.
The entire trial process was completed in six months, officials said. According to prosecution, the girl went missing from Yembal village near Aranthangi in the district on June 30 last year. After a complaint from her parents, police found her dead with injury marks all over her body amidst the bushes in the forest area bordering her village. Post mortem of the body revealed she had been raped and murdered. On July 1, the police arrested Raja who confessed to the crime and was slapped with cases under the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, POCSO Act and the IPC.
The case was investigated by the Deputy Superintendent of Police of Aranthangi and a charge sheet was filed in the case on September 1. The trial began on September 11 and 24 witnesses were listed by the prosecution in the case.
Though he managed to escape while being taken for medical checkup, police nabbed him the next day. Two policemen were suspended after Raja escaped and several special teams were formed to nab him.
(With PTI inputs)