Kerala: Auto driver gets death sentence for raping, killing class 10 student

Mangalore Today News Network

Thiruvananthapuram: The Thiruvananthapuram Sessions Court on Thursday awarded death sentence to Rajesh Kumar, who was convicted of raping and killing a young girl on March 6, 2012. The case concerned the murder of a class 10 student by an autorickshaw driver, Rajesh Kumar.

Reacting to the judgement of the court, the mother of the victim said that the family always wanted death sentence for the culprit, while the father of the class 10 student said, "No other girl should undergo what my child went through."

The convict, Rajesh Kumar, had on March 6, 2012, gone to the house of the class 10 student on the pretext of getting tools to repair his vehicle, which had broken down near the victim’s home. The convict was charged with raping and strangulating the victim.

Kumar was arrested by the Kerala police almost a week after the incident, on March 13, 2012, following which the police had submitted a chargesheet within three months and trial in the case began in November.