INDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE AND MURDER OF MINOR GIRL

August 4, 2020:

The Vijayawada Special POCSO Act Court in Andhra Pradesh on 4 August 2020 awarded death penalty to an accused, Barlapudi Pentaiah, 43, alias Aaya, who raped and murdered an eight-year-old girl in Bhavanipuram area.
The accused, a daily wage labourer, committed the crime when the girl, who was his neighbour, came to his house to watch television. She was studying in second standard in a private school.
According to Bhavanipuram CI D.K.N. Mohan Reddy, the accused committed the crime when he was alone at home on 10 November 2019. The accused, after committing the offence, smothered her to death when she cried in pain. Later, he packed the body in a polythene bag and concealed it at his house.
Meanwhile, the girl’s family members lodged a ‘missing’ complaint with the police. The dog squad and clues team which were pressed into service zeroed in on the accused and the police arrested him later.
Pentaiah’s wife, Sunitha, who was present at the hearing, urged the judge not to let her husband free and award maximum punishment for brutally killing the girl, the police said.