23-yr-old engineer gets death sentence for raping, killing 7-yr-old in Tamil Nadu

Chennai: In February 2017, a seven-year-old girl was raped, murdered and her body burnt by a neighbour who had a puppy she liked to play with at an apartment complex near Chennai.

The 23-year-old engineer, S Dhashwanth, was sentenced to death on Monday by a court in Tamil Nadu's Kancheepuram. He was also sentenced to 31 years in prison.

Dhashwanth allegedly also killed his mother after being let off on bail on a petition by his father. He got a bail in December 2017. Investigators said he killed her, stole her jewellery and fled to Mumbai. He was caught again in Mumbai though he was able to trick the Chennai police and escape. He was arrested again the very next day.

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According to a report in NDTV, the girl's father reacted on the court verdict and said, "We can sleep peacefully from today. He's a monster."

In 2017, Dhashwanth drew the little girl into his apartment using a puppy he had bought months ago for the purpose of engaging children. He raped the child and suffocated her to death. Then he stuffed the body in a bag and set fire to it on the highway.

The case was legally challenging because there was no witness.

"The prosecution had to rely only on circumstantial evidence. The charge had to be proved scientifically. DNA tests proved the semen collected from the girl's dress was Dhashwanth's. The little girl's jewellery was also recovered from the bedroom of the accused," explained Kannadasan, the lawyer who represented the girl's parents in court.

The police had registered a case under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, a tough law on sexual crimes against children.