A city court on Tuesday handed down a death sentence to a man found guilty of raping and murdering a five-year-old girl.
The Metropolitan Sessions Judge sentenced Dinesh Kumar Dharne to death for the ghastly crime committed in 2017.
The 23-year-old, a migrant labourer from Madhya Pradesh, had raped and killed daughter of another migrant labourer from Odisha on December 12, 2017.
He was convicted under Sections 363, 366, 376(A), 302 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 5 read with 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POSCO) Act-2012 for kidnapping, rape and murder.
Both the victim's family and accused were residents of Aryamitra labour camp at Alkapuri Township.
Cyberabad Police Commissioner V.C. Sajjanar said the victim's mother had lodged a complaint with Narsingi police station that Dharne had taken her to a kirana shop to buy her a chocolate but later returned alone and claimed that he had dropped her back at the labour camp.
The police grilled the accused and investigations revealed that the accused, after buying a chocolate for the victim, took her to nearby bushes beside compound wall of Sri Shiridi Sai Prem Samaj Hospital, Narsingi heights, Narsingi Village and committed the rape and murder.
The Police Commissioner said the police completed the investigations in a speedy manner and filed the charge sheet. The accused had got the bail and he was absconding. "We sent a special team to Madhya Pradesh and brought him back," Sajjanar said.
He said this and Covid-19 situation led to the delay in the trial.
The Police Commissioner said Telangana Police was paying special attention to safety of women and children. He pointed out that during last six years, eight accused in heinous crimes were sentenced to death in the state.
He said court monitoring team of Cyberabad police was working effectively. During the last three years in Cyberabad commissionerate limits, death penalty was pronounced in one case while in 30 cases, the convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment.