Man Gets Death Penalty For Sexual Assault, Murder Of Minor In Tamil Nadu

A POCSO court in Thoothukudi district of Tamil Nadu on Monday awarded a double death sentence to the key accused in the Tuticorin sexual assault and murder case, 77 days after the crime.

The victim, a 17-year-old Class 12 student in Vilathikulam who was reported missing, was found dead in a scrubland near her house in March this year.

The POCSO Special Court convicted Dharma Muneeswaran and sentenced him to death by hanging on both counts of sexual assault and murder of the minor.

With no CCTV cameras near the scene of crime, 10 special teams analysed 98 CCTV footages in other locations and examined 2,574 phone numbers using the tower dump method. The breakthrough came from a windmill camera that captured a suspicious two-wheeler near the crime scene. The bike's registration number had been tampered with, and the bike was found to be stolen.

Ellammal, Special Public Prosecutor - Mahila Court, Thoothukudi said "We were able to get a fair judgment in a short period of time because everybody who worked on this case was very responsible, and we all wanted to make sure that this should not happen to anybody else ever again".

The order came on a day Chief Minister Joseph Vijay urged the police and authorities to expedite trials in sexual and offences against children and obtain stringent punishment through proper trial. Vijay had made women safety and law and order a key campaign issue during his campaign before elections. His meeting comes amid a spurt in sexual offences in the state, including the sexual assault and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Coimbatore, with the opposition targeting the TVK government.

(With inputs from Swarnamathi A)