INDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR SEXUALLY ASSAULTING, KILLING MENTALLY RETARDED MINOR BOY

February 18, 2021:

The Mahila Court, in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, on 18 February 2021 awarded death penalty to a 34-year-old man hailing from Gujarat for sexually assaulting and murdering a mentally retarded 17-year-old minor boy in the district in December 2019.
Mahila Court Judge R. Sathya awarded death sentences to the accused, A. Thanish Patel, on three counts for the sexual assault under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act, 2019 and a life sentence for murder under the Indian Penal Code, said Prosecution sources.
Patel, then working as a heavy vehicle operator in a private crusher unit near Kolathur, had kidnapped the boy from the bazaar area in Keeranur sub division in a two-wheeler and took him to a desolate spot where he sexually assaulted the minor on 18 December 2019.
Patel had also inserted a stick in the minor's anus causing grievous internal injuries to the boy.
A local resident who noticed the crime alerted the villagers who caught Patel and handed him over to the police. The boy who underwent treatment for 20 days at the Pudukottai Medical College Hospital succumbed to injuries thereafter.
The chargesheet was filed in the Court on 12 February 2020 and a total number of 16 prosecution witnesses were examined.
The accused was ordered to pay fine, totalling ₹30,000.
The Court directed the government to pay a compensation of ₹3 lakhs to the family of the victim.