The Madras High Court on Monday confirmed the death sentence awarded by a Mahila Court to a person in the sensational case of gang rape of a 10-year-old and the murder of the girl and her brother, aged seven, in Coimbatore in 2010.
The victims in this case were defenceless. The girl was raped. The children were administered poison and then to be doubly sure that they die, they were pushed into flowing water. There did not seem to be any remorse shown by the lone surviving accused, observed a Division Bench comprising justices S. Rajeswaran and P.N. Prakash. The judges said that following the footsteps of the Supreme Court, they were confirming the death sentence to Manoharan.
Writing the 95-page judgment for the Bench, Mr. Justice Prakash said the children were standing near a temple, about 200 metres from their house on October 29, 2010 to board the vehicle to go to school in Coimbatore. One Mohanakrishnan had picked them up in a car and not dropped them in school. He was joined by one Manoharan and together they were with the children in and around the Parambikulam Aliyar Project (PAP) canal. The girl’s hands were tied behind and one after the other raped her. Later, cow dung powder which contained auramine (a poisonous basic dye) and milk were mixed and given to the children. Both drank a little quantity and spit the remaining in the car. Following this, the accused, to make sure that the two died, took them to Deepalapatti, a secluded place on the outskirts of Coimbatore district, where the PAP canal was located. They pushed one child after the other into it.
On November 8, 2010, Mohanakrishnan was shot dead by police after he allegedly grabbed the weapon from a policeman and tried to hijack a vehicle in which he was being taken.
The Sessions Judge, Mahila Court, Coimbatore, on November 1, 2012 sentenced Manoharan to varying terms of imprisonment and death. The court ordered that the sentences would run concurrently. As death sentence was awarded, the trial was referred to the High Court. Manoharan also filed an appeal.
The Bench held that the prosecution had proved all the circumstances beyond reasonable doubt.
