Tirupati: Verdict in 5-year-old’s rape and murder case today

TIRUPATI: The special POCSO court on Monday postponed the verdict in the rape-and-murder of a five-year-old girl to Tuesday.
The accused Mohammad Rafi (27) had filed a recall petition with I Additional District and Sessions Judge, Chittoor, M. Venkata Harinath.
A five-year-old girl was found dead at the precincts of KNR Convention at Chenetha Nagar in Angallu in Chittoor district on November 8, 2019.
The girl was seen playing with an unidentified youth, who had befriended her by taking her photographs in his phone on the night of November 7.
On November 8, around 6.15 am, the girl was found dead with minor injuries on the back side of her waist, stomach, abdomen and feet.
Based on the complaint given by the victim’s parents, a case was registered at Mudivedu Police Station.
Madanapalle sub division police led by deputy superintendent of police K Ravi Manoharachari verified CCTV footage and found the girl was lured by an unidentified person with whom she was moving closely and walked out of the function hall at around 9.54 pm on November 7.
After analysing the CCTV footage and based on the details given by eyewitnesses, a portrait of the suspect was drawn and circulated on social media and police stations across the state.
The police got inputs from various quarters and it led them to Mohammad Rafi, a native of Basinikonda, who was arrested on November 16. The police produced him before the court the next day.
The evidence from the scene of offence was sent to Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and the report was submitted to the court in 10 days.
It was found that the accused was involved in a similar rape case involving a minor at nearby Basinikonda in 2008 but was acquitted.
Chittoor SP S Senthil Kumar said the accused had admitted to raping the child before committing the murder.
The charge sheet was filed on December 10, within 17 working days from the date of arrest, though a 90-day period is allowed for filing charge sheet in rape cases.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)