Pudukottai (Tamil Nadu): In an extremely rare judgement a young man was Tuesday awarded double death sentence by a court here in the district. The punishment was meted out to the man for the rape and murder of a seven-year old Dalit girl last year. Double death sentences have rarely been heard in India.
Mahila Court judge R Sathya sentenced to death Samuel alias Raja under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and also under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code for rape and murder. He was also sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering a Dalit girl and seven years imprisonment for kidnapping a child and trying to destroy evidence.
The entire trial process was completed in six months, officials said.
According to prosecution, the girl went missing from a village near Aranthangi in the district June 30 last year. After a complaint from her parents, police found her dead. Post-mortem revealed she had been raped and murdered.
Police arrestedSamuel and registered cases under the Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, POCSO Act and the IPC. Samuel was charged with rape and murder of the girl. Though he managed to escape while being taken for medical checkup, police nabbed him the next day.