Dashvanth gets death verdict for murder of 7-year-old girl...
...46 Yrs In Jail For Abduction, Sexual Assault
Ekatha.Ann@timesgroup.com
Chennai : A court here on Monday convicted a 23-yearold engineer in the abduction, sexual assault and murder last February of a sevenyear-old girl and sentenced him to death for the coldblooded killing.
The mahila court also handed S Dashvanth a 46-year prison term for the abduction and sexual assault of the child.
Special judge P Velmurugan of the Chengalpet mahila court arrived at his decision to convict the engineer — who is also accused of murdering his mother last December — within the remarkably quick time of two months and a day from the start of the proceedings in the case.
And he required little time on Monday to deliberate on the punishment, handing down the maximum just two hours after the guilty verdict against Dashvanth.
Investigating officers with the prosecution, who made their case on hard evidence backed by searing witness testimony — including from a neighbour, the last person to see the girl alive as she played on her own in her apartment before Dashvanth abducted her — expressed happiness with the verdict.
Dashvanth is likely to appeal the verdict, the officers said, but their next task would be to file a chargesheet against him for the December 2 murder of his mother Sarala, 45, at their home in Kundrathur.
Dashvanth is also accused of murdering his mother
Engineer claims innocence, but loses his cool in court
The judge convicted Dashvanth under five sections of the Indian Penal Code and two sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Investigators had charged Dashvanth under IPC sections 363 and 366 (abduction), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and the sections 5 and 6 of the Pocso Act (aggravated sexual assault).
Policemen escorted Dashvanth into the court at 11am and he listened quietly as the judge read out the charges. Seven policemen stood guard around the box in which he stood.
On February 5, Dashvanth, the victim’s neighbour, lured her into his flat and sexually assaulted her. He suffocated her when she tried to scream for help. He later stuffed the body in a travel bag and dumped it in an isolated spot near the southern suburb of Anakaputhur. He then returned to the site and burned the body beyond recognition.
Police caught Dashvanth in a lie when he made up an alibi about being at a function when the girl’s parents reported her missing.
The police on February 8 booked Dashvanth, then 22, under the Goondas Act for sexual assault and murder of the girl. But investigators failed to file the chargesheet within 90 days of the arrest, and the engineer’s father Sekhar moved the mahila court against his son’s detention. On September 12, he secured his bail.
Less than three months later, Dashvanth allegedly killed his mother Sarala and went on the run with her gold jewellery. Police officers from Chennai arrested him in Mumbai.
On Monday morning, a police posse stood guard as Dashvanth arrived in a van from Puzhal Central Prison. Around 3pm, the judge convicted him and walked out of the room. In the two-hour gap between the verdict and the sentence, Dashvanth’s mood shifted quickly from apathy to intense anger.
For 15 minutes Dashvanth stared straight at the judge’s vacant chair. He restlessly shifted his weight from one foot to another before bending over the railing to talk to his lawyer.
“He then turned to me and said what he’s been telling all of us all through our journey from the prison,” said an officer who escorted him: “‘I am innocent.’”
Dashvanth abruptly turned to reporters in the court. “Don’t write the rubbish they [the members of the prosecution] say. They are a bunch of idiots,” he said. Asked if this was a request, he took a moment before responding. “I request you guys...” Police tried to hush him, but he paid no heed.
An hour later, Dashvanth asked the lawyer and policemen for a paper and pen. He sat on a bench and penned a letter but just as he stood up to hand it over, the judge reentered. He ignored the letter. As the judge read out his sentence, Dashvanth stood quietly. As the crowd dispersed, Dashvanth angrily turned to the media. “You all are writing only the police version,” he said, using an expletive to describe policemen in general. He then waited sullen-faced in the midst of a ring of khaki, before policemen escorted him to a waiting van
...46 Yrs In Jail For Abduction, Sexual Assault
Ekatha.Ann@timesgroup.com
Chennai : A court here on Monday convicted a 23-yearold engineer in the abduction, sexual assault and murder last February of a sevenyear-old girl and sentenced him to death for the coldblooded killing.
The mahila court also handed S Dashvanth a 46-year prison term for the abduction and sexual assault of the child.
Special judge P Velmurugan of the Chengalpet mahila court arrived at his decision to convict the engineer — who is also accused of murdering his mother last December — within the remarkably quick time of two months and a day from the start of the proceedings in the case.
And he required little time on Monday to deliberate on the punishment, handing down the maximum just two hours after the guilty verdict against Dashvanth.
Investigating officers with the prosecution, who made their case on hard evidence backed by searing witness testimony — including from a neighbour, the last person to see the girl alive as she played on her own in her apartment before Dashvanth abducted her — expressed happiness with the verdict.
Dashvanth is likely to appeal the verdict, the officers said, but their next task would be to file a chargesheet against him for the December 2 murder of his mother Sarala, 45, at their home in Kundrathur.
Dashvanth is also accused of murdering his mother
Engineer claims innocence, but loses his cool in court
The judge convicted Dashvanth under five sections of the Indian Penal Code and two sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
Investigators had charged Dashvanth under IPC sections 363 and 366 (abduction), 354B (assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to disrobe), 302 (murder), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and the sections 5 and 6 of the Pocso Act (aggravated sexual assault).
Policemen escorted Dashvanth into the court at 11am and he listened quietly as the judge read out the charges. Seven policemen stood guard around the box in which he stood.
On February 5, Dashvanth, the victim’s neighbour, lured her into his flat and sexually assaulted her. He suffocated her when she tried to scream for help. He later stuffed the body in a travel bag and dumped it in an isolated spot near the southern suburb of Anakaputhur. He then returned to the site and burned the body beyond recognition.
Police caught Dashvanth in a lie when he made up an alibi about being at a function when the girl’s parents reported her missing.
The police on February 8 booked Dashvanth, then 22, under the Goondas Act for sexual assault and murder of the girl. But investigators failed to file the chargesheet within 90 days of the arrest, and the engineer’s father Sekhar moved the mahila court against his son’s detention. On September 12, he secured his bail.
Less than three months later, Dashvanth allegedly killed his mother Sarala and went on the run with her gold jewellery. Police officers from Chennai arrested him in Mumbai.
On Monday morning, a police posse stood guard as Dashvanth arrived in a van from Puzhal Central Prison. Around 3pm, the judge convicted him and walked out of the room. In the two-hour gap between the verdict and the sentence, Dashvanth’s mood shifted quickly from apathy to intense anger.
For 15 minutes Dashvanth stared straight at the judge’s vacant chair. He restlessly shifted his weight from one foot to another before bending over the railing to talk to his lawyer.
“He then turned to me and said what he’s been telling all of us all through our journey from the prison,” said an officer who escorted him: “‘I am innocent.’”
Dashvanth abruptly turned to reporters in the court. “Don’t write the rubbish they [the members of the prosecution] say. They are a bunch of idiots,” he said. Asked if this was a request, he took a moment before responding. “I request you guys...” Police tried to hush him, but he paid no heed.
An hour later, Dashvanth asked the lawyer and policemen for a paper and pen. He sat on a bench and penned a letter but just as he stood up to hand it over, the judge reentered. He ignored the letter. As the judge read out his sentence, Dashvanth stood quietly. As the crowd dispersed, Dashvanth angrily turned to the media. “You all are writing only the police version,” he said, using an expletive to describe policemen in general. He then waited sullen-faced in the midst of a ring of khaki, before policemen escorted him to a waiting van
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