Coimbatore: The special POCSO Court, Justice Radhika on Friday awarded death sentence to Santhosh Kumar (32) the main accused in the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl from Thudiyalur in Coimbatore.
Coimbatore: The special POCSO Court, Justice Radhika on Friday awarded death sentence to Santhosh Kumar (32) the main accused in the rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl from Thudiyalur in Coimbatore.
On Friday morning, the Court pronounced him guilty and adjourned the verdict to 3 pm. Following which, Justice Radhika awarded him death sentence and life imprisonment for rape and murder under section 302 and 201 of the IPC. She also imposed a fine of RS. 2000.
The Justice also ordered the State Government to provide Rs. 10 lakh solatium to victim's family.
Announcing the judgement, Justice Radhika of Special POCSO which was constituted recently to handle rape and sexual abuse against women, awarded death sentence to Santosh Kumar for his brutality.
Initially Santhosh was brought to the court room amid tight security. The Court room was packed with women advocates and social activists who were keen to know the maiden judgement of the special POCSO court against the case which created a huge uproar across the State.
Punishment details
The accused was convicted by the Special POCSO Court Judge for offences under Sections 302 and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
Section 302 in The Indian Penal Code
The Indian Penal Code. 302. Punishment for murder. —Whoever commits murder shall be punished with death, or 1[imprisonment for life], and shall also be liable to fine.
Section 201 in The Indian Penal Code
Whoever, knowing or having reason to believe that an offence has been committed, causes any evidence of the commission of that offence to disappear, with the intention of screening the offender from legal punishment, or with that intention gives any information respecting the offence which he knows or believes to be false; if a capital offence.—shall, if the offence which he knows or believes to have been committed is punishable with death, be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine; if punishable with imprisonment for life.—and if the offence is punishable with 1[imprisonment for life], or with imprisonment which may extend to ten years, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine; if punishable with less than ten years’ imprisonment.
The Case
On March 31, All Women Police arrested Santhosh Kumar of Uliyampalayam, Thondamuthur, here on charges of raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl from Pannimadai area in Thudiyalur here.
According to reports, Kumar, an interior decorator, had befriended the girl while he was staying at his grandmother’s house close to the girl's house in Thudiyalur On March 25, when the child was playing outside Santosh's house he lured the child into his house where he allegedly sexually assaulted and killed her, the police said.
According to reports, he had sexually assaulted the girl twice before and the girl resisted his attempts, he had strangulated her.
On the same day his grandmother who was bedridden died a few hours after Kumar had allegedly raped and murdered the girl. Making use of the situation, he dumped the girl's body at his home and waited for a chance to dispose.
In the wee hours of March 26, when his relatives who had come to attend his grand mother's funeral were asleep, he took the girl’s body and dumped it in a bush nearby.
The police said as he had dumped the body in his t-shirt, they were able to nab him easily.
Initially, the Thudiyalur Police had registered a murder case and began investigation. The next day, it came to light that the little girl had been raped, and later they transferred the case to the Thudiyalur All Women Police.
Special teams were formed under the direct supervisor of then Superintendent of Police R. Pandiarajan to arrest the perpetrators of the heinous crime. In the first round, six persons were interrogated and four were eliminated from the list.
During subsequent rounds of investigation, the Police intensified the inquiries and Santhosh Kumar confessed to the crime
He was later booked under IPC section 376A (causing death of rape victim) in addition to 5(l) (Whoever commits penetrative sexual assault on the child more than once or repeatedly), 5(m) (Whoever commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below twelve years) and 6 (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.
Kumar who was married a few years ago got separated from his wife within a month of the wedding. He then moved to his grandmother’s house in January at Pannimadai to look after her.