Justice Served: Telangana Court Awards Death Sentence in Decade-Old Case

A court in Telangana's Nalgonda district has handed down a death sentence to a 24-year-old man for the 2013 rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl. The Special POCSO court found the man, who is a butcher, guilty under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Indian Penal Code. Additionally, the court levied a fine of Rs 1.10 lakh on the accused, as confirmed by Nalgonda District Superintendent of Police, Sharat Chandra Pawar.

The accused, who has hearing and speech impairments, was provided with an interpreter throughout the legal proceedings. The trial spanned 12 years, highlighting the drawn-out nature of the judicial process in this case.

According to the prosecution, the young victim was a resident from the same colony as the accused and was subjected to sexual assault and strangulation before her body was abandoned in a drainage canal. The initial complaint was filed as a missing person's report by the victim's family, but the case took a grim turn when her body was discovered, leading to the arrest and subsequent judicial custody of the accused.

(With inputs from agencies.)