TN: Coimbatore POSCO Court awards death penalty for rape and murder of minor

A 34-year-old man who was convicted for the rape and murder a six-year-old girl has been awarded the death sentence by a special court in Tamil Nadu's Coimbatore. Santosh Kumar was convicted by a POCSO (Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences) court on Friday, December 27. The victim, who went missing on March 24 was found dead near her residence in Pannimadai the next day with her limbs tied.

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Criminal acts

An autopsy confirmed that the minor had been raped before being smothered to death. The police, within a week, nabbed Kumar, who was the victim's neighbour. According to the police, the victim had fallen down while playing in front of Kumar’s house on the day of the incident. He then, on the pretext of helping her, took her inside his house and raped her twice before smothering her to death. He then disposed of her body under the convenience of his grandmother's death the same day.

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Punishment and further investigation

The verdict in the case, delivered around 3:15 pm by judge Radhika, read that Kumar be hanged to death for murdering the victim. The court also ordered the convict to pay a fine of Rs 2,000 for the charges against him. The court also ordered an additional investigation after forensic report on Thursday showed evidence of a second rapist.

(With inputs from agencies)

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