Hyderabad: A local court has sentenced a 33-year-old worker, Lingala Deepak, to 20-year rigorous imprisonment and directed him to pay a fine of 20,000 for raping a five-year-old girl.
The special sessions judge for POCSO cases, Hyderabad, who delivered the verdict on Tuesday, also announced 5 lakh compensation to the girl, whose parents are from Nepal. The case was registered at the Mahankali police station in Nov 2023.
CCTV footage captured near the crime scene, showing the convict taking the girl with him, proved to be vital evidence. The Forensic Science Lab also analysed the footage and confirmed the persons captured in the footage were the convict and the survivor. Further, statements of the girl during different stages of the investigation and trial, their neighbours, who rescued the girl from the convict, her mother, medical reports proving that she was raped, and other circumstantial evidence proving the role of the convict in the crime were produced before the court.
Appreciating the evidence, the court found Deepak guilty and awarded punishment to him, additional public prosecutor K Prathap Reddy said.
Police said the girl’s parents worked at an apartment. On Nov 13, 2023, when the girl was playing in the corridor, Deepak, who worked as a labourer, lured the girl towards the terrace of the building. He raped her on the stairs, leaving her severely injured on her private parts.
