Man gets double death penalty for sexual assault, murder of TN student; CM Vijay hails verdict

A speedy trial was conducted, and the accused, Dharma Muneeswaran, was handed a double death penalty for the crime of sexual assault and murder.Justice has been delivered very quickly within three months of this heinous incident, Vijay said on X, hailing the verdict, which he said was delivered when the state government was taking efforts to ensure the safety of women and children.There was political outrage following the death of the girl.

A POCSO court here on Monday handed a double death penalty to a man for the sexual assault and murder of a class 12 girl student in this district.

M Breetha, judge of Second Additional District Court, delivered the verdict within 77 days of the incident and after forensic evidence confirmed the involvement of the suspect Dharma Muneeswaran, 38, of Rajapandi Nagar in Tuticorin.

The victim, a student from Vedanatham village in Vilathikulam was reported missing on March 10 and her body was found the next day amidst shrubs near her house. She had gone behind a shrub to attend to nature's call, police said.

The breakthrough in the case for the police came from a windmill camera that captured a suspicious two-wheeler near the scene of crime.

Special Public Prosecutor of Mahila Court, Tuticorin, Ellammal said, ''we were able to get a fair judgment in a short period of time. Everybody worked on this case and wanted to ensure that such incidents do not happen to anybody else.''.

Hailing the judgment, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay, who earlier in the day reviewed the law and order situation in the state, said 71 witnesses were examined in the case. A speedy trial was conducted, and the accused, Dharma Muneeswaran, was handed a double death penalty for the crime of sexual assault and murder.

''Justice has been delivered very quickly within three months of this heinous incident,'' Vijay said on 'X', hailing the verdict, which he said was delivered when the state government was taking efforts to ensure the safety of women and children.

There was political outrage following the death of the girl. Police filed the chargesheet within 20 days of the occurrence of the crime and the suspect was produced before the trial court on April 5.