Telangana: Man gets capital punishment for rape, murder of minor girl

Dinesh Kumar kidnapped the girl, who lived with her parents, both construction workers in the same labour camp, after luring her with chocolates at a tea stall.

Hyderabad: The Metropolitan Sessions Judge Court on Tuesday awarded capital punishment to a man on charges of raping and murdering a five-year-old girl in Manikonda in Narsingi in 2017. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 on him. The convict, Dinesh Kumar Dharne (25), a centring worker from a labour camp in Alkapur Township is a native of Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh.

In December 2017, Dinesh Kumar kidnapped the girl, who lived with her parents, both construction workers in the same labour camp, after luring her with chocolates at a tea stall. He took her into the nearby bushes where he raped and killed her by strangulation.

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He abandoned the body besides the compound wall and returned alone to the labour camp. When the girl’s mother questioned Dinesh about her, he gave vague replies saying he had dropped her at the labour camp long back and that she could be playing somewhere.

Pretending to be innocent, he joined the child’s parents and others in searching for her in the neighbourhood. Based on a complaint from the girl’s mother, the Narsingi police booked a case and over strong suspicion, took Dinesh into custody and questioned him, after which he spilled the beans.

The scientific investigation by the police along with a foolproof examination of key witnesses and a detailed charge sheet ensured that there were no doubts left during the trial. However, during the trial, Dinesh managed to secure bail and fled to Madhya Pradesh, due to which the trial was interrupted for a brief period. The Cyberabad Police formed special teams and nabbed him and brought him back to Hyderabad, after which the trial was completed.

Director-General of Police M Mahender Reddy and Cyberabad Police Commissioner VC Sajjanar appreciated the investigation officer and team for their efforts in securing the death penalty for the guilty in the case. This was the seventh death penalty that the State Police managed to secure for culprits in heinous crimes since 2016, officials said.