The Telangana High Court on Wednesday upheld the order of a lower court which sentenced, to death, the convict in the rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in Hyderabad.
The high court dismissed an appeal by the convict against the order of the Metropolitan Sessions Court in the 2017 case, agreeing with the lower court that it is the rarest of rare cases.
Dinesh Kumar Dharne, a migrant worker from Madhya Pradesh, had kidnapped, raped, and murdered the girl at Narsingi in December 2017. He had lured the girl with chocolates, took her to the bushes, and raped her. Fearing that she would inform her parents about it, he bludgeoned her to death.
The victim was the daughter of a couple who had migrated from Bihar for work.
Dharne, who was then aged 23, and the victim's parents were working at the same construction site in Narsingi and knew each other well. When the girl was playing outside her hut, he took her to a nearby grocery shop on the pretext of buying her chocolates. On not finding their daughter for long, they questioned Dharne, who said he had dropped her back at the construction site and hadn't seen her ever since.
The police took up the investigation after the victim's parents lodged a complaint. During the questioning by police, Dharne confessed to the crime and was charged under Sections 363, 366, 376(A) and 302 of the IPC and the POCSO Act.
In February 2021, the Metropolitan Sessions Court in Ranga Reddy district had found him guilty and sentenced him to death. This was the first death sentence in the Cyberabad Commissionerate limits since its formation in 2003 and also was the first delivered by the Ranga Reddy district court in over three decades. Then Commissioner of Cyberabad V.C. Sajjanar had termed it a landmark judgement and said it was a result of a watertight case made against the accused.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Featured Video Of The Day
"Would Have Demolished It Myself": Actor Nagarjuna Slams Civic Bodies On N-Convention Centre FIR Filed Against Judge's Son In Telangana Over Complaint By Woman Alok Aradhe Sworn In As Chief Justice Of Telangana High Court Canada Cop Who Attended Khalistani Protest Outside Hindu Temple Suspended Explained: Sunita Williams Experiences 16 Sunrises And Sunsets Every Day Video: Man Sits On Firecracker In Bet For New Vehicle. Explosion Kills Him Delhi Bus Crushes 2 To Death, Including Police Constable On Patrol Duty Kamala Harris, Donald Trump's Last-Mile Push Ahead Of US Election: 10 Facts US Woman, 23, Goes Blind In One Eye After Swimming With Contact Lenses Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.