Puducherry, May 2:
A Fast Track Court in Puducherry has found a youth, who was the lone surviving accused in the 2024 sensational rape and murder case of a minor girl, guilty and convicted him.
Special Judge M D Sumathi, delivering the verdict, found the youth Kaka alias Karnas, guilty of all the charges that included abducting, gang rape and murder under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and other laws and convicted him for sexually assaulting and murdering the nine-year-old girl in this Union Territory.
The accused was convicted on charges of Sections 376 (rape of a minor girl below the age of 12), 302 (murder), 367 (abduction), 368 and 342 (abduction and wrongful confinement), 202 (causing disappearance of evidence) and 34 (committing crime by two or more persons in furtherance of common intention) of the IPC and on charges of Section 5 of the POCSO Act and Sec 5 of the (SC, ST Prevention of Atrocities Act).
After finding him guilty and convicting the accused on the ground that the proesecution has proved the charges against him beyond any reasonable doubt, the Judge posted the case to May five for pronouncing the quantum of sentence.
Talking to reporters, Special Public Prosecutor S Patcheappan said the it was a rarest of rare case and court should consider awarding him the maixmum punishment of delath penalty to the accused.
The prosecution case was that the girl was found missing on May two, 2024 and three days later, her body was fished out from a drain.
Police investigations revealed that the victim was last seen with Karnas, her neighbour. Police arrested him and after extensive questioning, he confessed to the involvement of his close asociate Vivekanandan (56), who was well known to the victims, and subsequently arrested. However, Vivekanandan later committed suicide in the toilet of the Kalapet Central Prison where he was lodged and the charges against him were abated.