Warangal: Victim’s parents hail death to rapist

WARANGAL: Parents of the nine-month-old baby who was raped and murdered in June experienced a sence of closure on Thursday after going through a traumatic experience following the kidnap, rape and murder of their baby.

After the court delivered the death sentence to the accused, P. Praveen, they said their loss is irreparable but the judgement comes as an assurance to all parents of girl children. They said the judgement also increased their faith in the law.

The child’s mother said that though it is painful to lose a child, she felt some respite that the person who is responsible for it will not be alive.

“We were worried that the court may not give the death sentence to him, but after the judgment was delivered, we were relieved. The person who had no mercy on an innocent child does not have the right to live anymore. Not only our family, but the entire nation must feel happy for this judgement. Law enforcement should be in such a way that such incidents do not repeat,” she said.

She said the family received a lot of support from all quarters and were encouraged not to take even one step back in their fight for justice. She said this judgment eliminates the fear among women to give birth to a girl child.

The father thanked the police, especially commissioner V. Ravinder and ACP Sridhar, inspectors Sampath and Sadaiah for providing strong support to the family. He said punishments for crimes against women and children should be such that no person will think of hurting a woman.

The grandfather of the child expressed his satisfaction over the judgment and said that though his beloved granddaughter will not come back, at least her soul will rest in peace.

Police lauded for probe, filed charges in 21 days

Speedy investigation into the rape and murder of a nine-month-old baby, which culminated in the death sentence for the accused, identified as Praveen, has been appreciated in several quarters.

The police filed the chargesheet within 21 days so the trial began and ended in 48 days. Police registered the case under Indian Penal Code Sections 376 A, 376 AB, 449, 363, 379, 302 and Section 5 (IM) read with Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act of 2018. The court also treated the case as a special one, and ensured a fast-track trial. People congratulated the police present in the court on Thursday after the judgement was delivered.

Panchayat Raj minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao said the judgement comes as a warning to those who commit crimes against women and children. He lauded the bar association and NGOs who stood by the family and appreciated the police for their swift action in taking the case to the court at the earliest.

Warangal West MLA Dasyam Vinay Bhasker welcomed the decision of the court to hang the accused. He met the parents of the child after the court ruling and said the state government would stand by them in future.

Warangal commissioner V. Ravinder said the police left no stone unturned and did not waste any time in gathering the evidence to ensure that the accused gets the maximum punishment. The DNA, post-mortem, forensic and other reports were followed up by police officers to get them issued on time. He complimented ACP Ch Sridhar and inspectors A. Sampath and P. Sadaiah who led the investigation.