Dharmapuri man sentenced to double death for murder

COIMBATORE: A special court for trial of cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act in Dharmapuri on Tuesday awarded a double death sentence to a 22-year-old man for sexual assault and murder of a seven-year-old boy in 2023.

According to the prosecution, the accused M Prakash, abducted the victim, who was playing near his house, by inviting him to play on July 18, 2023.

He took the boy to an unused overhead tank and sexually assaulted him. Fearing that the boy would expose his crime, Prakash strangled him to death and dumped his body in the tank before leaving the spot.

As the boy did not return home, the family members launched a frantic search and subsequently lodged a complaint with the Krishnapuram police station.

During the course of the investigation, police detained Prakash on suspicion after he gave contradictory accounts regarding the boy’s whereabouts.

Upon further grilling, Prakash confessed to having killed the boy after sexually assaulting him. The police, along with fire and rescue personnel, then recovered the body of the boy from the tank.

During the proceedings, the prosecution submitted a 10-page chargesheet and examined 33 witnesses. After the trial, the special court judge S Asseen Banu awarded the death penalty on charges of sexual assault and murder.

The court also sentenced Prakash to five years of rigorous imprisonment each under Sections 201 (destruction of evidence) and 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC. The court imposed a total fine of Rs 60,000, and failure to pay the amount would result in additional terms of rigorous imprisonment. The sentences are to run concurrently.