Chennai: The special court of Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu on Friday sentenced the 34-year-old convict to death in case of murder after raping a seven-year-old girl. The victim's mother supported the decision, saying that this decision will provide a lesson to such criminals in future. Justice R Radhika of the Special Court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) sentenced Santosh Kumar to death under various sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act.

According to the prosecution, Santosh Kumar killed his grandmother's neighbour's daughter after allegedly raping her and dumping her body in a trash can on March 25 in Panneermai. Santosh Kumar was arrested on 31 March after the body of the girl was found. The child was found tied with arms and legs and there were wounds on her body. This incident increased anger among the locals. After his arrest, when people were brought to the government hospital for medical examination, people beat him up.

The case was earlier being heard in the Women's Court which was later transferred to the POCSO Court. The statements of 32 witnesses in the case were recorded. Justice Radhika sentenced the convict to death for murder, life imprisonment for misdemeanour and seven years imprisonment for destroying evidence under various sections of IPC and POCSO.

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