The prosecution on Thursday sought the death penalty for Vadivel alias Gundappa Devendra, 34, convicted by a special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) on Tuesday for the sexual assault and murder of a nine-year-old child in a neighbourhood in Vileparle.
The Dindoshi court is expected to pronounce the sentence today (Friday). The decomposing body of the child had been found in a septic tank. On April 4, 2019, the child had gone to a nearby shop around 6.15 pm and had not returned.
Probe found the man had taken the child with him when she was on her way to the shop, sexually assaulted and then murdered her. Vadivel had been out of jail only months before the incident, having been convicted in another sexual crime against a child. In the previous offence, he had been sentenced to seven years in jail.
