A special POCSO court here on Saturday sentenced to death a 44-year old man for murdering his relative, a minor girl, and awarded him jail term till the end of his natural life for raping her minor sister in 2021. The special court to try offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) sentenced Idukki resident Sunil Kumar in a case registered at the Vellathooval police station and also awarded him four terms of jail sentence till the end of his natural life.

The man is also accused of grievously injuring the mother and the grandmother of the victims on the fateful night of October 3, 2021.

The prosecution said the man, who had enmity towards the family, entered the house of the deceased child and hammered her to death and grievously injured her mother.

He later went to the nearby house where the grandmother and the elder sister of the deceased child were sleeping and attacked them. He brutally assaulted the grandmother and raped the 14-year old girl.

The incident came to light when the child escaped and informed the neighbours.

The death sentence was awarded in the murder case of the minor child while his imprisonment till the end of natural life was granted in the other cases of rape and assault.

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