VIJAYAWADA: The special POCSO court in Vijayawada on Tuesday awarded death penalty to Barlapudi Pentaiah alias Prakash, 37, who was convicted of raping and murdering a minor girl at Nallakunta village near Vijayawada last November.
Pentaiah was arrested on November 11, 2019, after the Bhavanipuram police solved mystery of a girl who went missing from her home while playing the previous day.
Twenty hours after the incident was reported, the police and relatives of the girl found her body stuffed in a gunny bag under a bed at the house of the accused. Based on a complaint filed by the girl’s parents, the Bhavanipuram police registered a case against Pentaiah under Sections 302, 354 (B) and 376 read with 511 of the IPC, and Section 8 of the POCSO Act, 2012.
Within two months, the police filed a charge sheet. Special POSCO court judge G Pratibha Devi delivered the verdict after hearing the accounts of 35 witnesses, including the wife of the accused.
Expressing happiness over the verdict, the girl’s father Anil Kumar Babu said Pentaiah was their neighbour and both families shared a cordial relationship and used to celebrate festivals together. “My wife fell sick and our family has been in deep pain since the incident. Even Pentaiah’s wife gave a statement against her husband in court. Justice has been served,” he said.
Ironically, Pentaiah even participated in the search operations with the victim’s relatives and the police to avoid suspicion. “He played an active role in the search operation. We cracked the case after his wife told us about a bag in their house,” Bhavanipuram circle inspector DKN Mohan Reddy recalled.
Five years earlier, Pentaiah molested a girl while working in Nandigama. “We found about about his background and previous acts. The accused raped the girl and strangled her out of fear. He tried to throw the body in the Krishna river, which is 500 m from his house, but his attempt turned futile as the girl’s mother noticed the girl was missing and alerted all the neighbours,” the CI added.
On the other hand, the public prosecutor said the verdict was delayed by three months due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
DGP Gautam Sawang appreciated the alacrity displayed in the investigation by the Vijayawada city police and said that this sentence serves as a message that those guilty of crimes against women and children won’t be spared.
He added that further consolidation of Disha initiatives is on the anvil. “This is the 18th conviction in cases of rape and cases filed under the POCSO Act that has been secured by the AP police since the Disha Bill was passed in Andhra Pradesh last December,” Sawang said.
Wife of accused testified against him
Even Pentaiah’s wife gave a statement against her husband in court
Ironically, Pentaiah even participated in the search operations with the victim’s relatives and the police to avoid suspicion