NALGONDA: A fast-track court for POCSO Act cases at Nalgonda on Thursday sentenced 34-year-old Md Mukarram to death by hanging for the rape and murder of an 11-year-old girl on April 28, 2013.
According to the prosecution, Mukarram, a butcher from Nalgonda town, coerced the victim into his home on that fateful day, raped and murdered her, and dumped the body into a nearby nala.
The court held the accused guilty of offences punishable under Sections 376-A, 302, and 201 of the IPC and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. Accordingly, he was convicted under Section 235(2) of the CrPC for the said offences. Besides the death sentence, the convict was fined a total of Rs 1,10,000 which would have to be paid to the mother of the victim.
According to the chargesheet, the heinous crime occurred on April 28, 2013 at Hyderkhanguda street in Nalgonda. The victim, a Class VI student, had gone to meet her friend when the atrocity was committed.
Victim’s body dumped into a nala
According to the chargesheet, the victim informed her mother that she was going to a friend’s house. Her mother handed over a few packets of tea powder in a bag and asked her to sell them after visiting her friend.
Seeing the victim near his house, Mukarram called her inside on the pretext of purchasing the tea powder. As soon as she stepped inside, he shut her mouth, dragged her into a bedroom situated at the rear side of the house, tied her hands with a rope, used her chunni to gag her, the chargesheet said.
When she resisted him, he hit her on her cheeks, face and on the chest and raped her.
Fearing that the victim would inform the matter to her parents, he strangulated the victim with her chunni. Later that night, he dumped the body and the tea packets into the nearby nala.
The body was discovered the next day. The injuries made it clear that it was murder and a case was registered.
During investigation, the elder sister of the victim told the police that Mukarram had called her and the victim into his house on the pretext of purchasing tea packets and misbehaved with them. With this information, the police arrested the accused.
The FSL report confirmed rape and the postmortem report listed the cause of death as “asphyxia secondary to strangulation and collapsed lungs due to multiple rib fractures”.
Mukarram, who is deaf, was a native of Yaqutpura in Hyderabad and had shifted to Nalgonda about 10 years prior to the crime along with his mother Ghousia Begum and elder brother Akram Qureshi. He had been married in 2010, but his wife left him due to his cruelty, the chargesheet said.
Sequence of Events
April 28, 2013
Victim (11, completed Class VI) leaves home in Hyderkhanguda Street, Nalgonda around 6 pm to visit a friend. Mother gives her tea powder packets to sell on the way
Mukarram spots her walking alone, calls her into his house on pretext of buying tea powder
Inside, he gags her, ties her hands with rope, wraps chunni around her neck, stuffs part of it into her mouth, punches her face, cheeks, and chest when she resists, and rapes her
Fearing she will report the assault, he strangles her with the chunni, killing her
Night of April 28, 2013 – Dumps body and tea packets in a nearby nala
April 29, 2013
Police recover body from drainage pit; injuries and chunni around neck noted
Elder sister informs police of previous incident where accused misbehaved with both sisters under similar pretext
FSL report confirms sexual assault; post-mortem states cause of death as “asphyxia secondary to strangulation and collapsed lungs due to multiple rib fractures.”
August 14, 2025 – Court convicts him under IPC Sections 376-A, 302, 201 and POCSO Act, awards death sentence and compensation to victim’s mother
Quantum of Punishment
Murder (Section 302 IPC): Death by hanging; fine of Rs 50,000. In default of payment, six months’ simple imprisonment in addition to the main sentence
Destruction of evidence (Section 201 IPC): Seven years’ rigorous imprisonment; fine of Rs 10,000. In default of payment, six months’ simple imprisonment in addition to the main sentence
Aggravated penetrative sexual assault on a child (Section 5 POCSO, punishable under Section 6): Death by hanging; fine of Rs 50,000. In default of payment, six months’ simple imprisonment in addition to the main sentence
Total fine: Rs 1,10,000 to be paid to the victim’s mother as compensation for pain and suffering
Additional compensation: Rs 10,00,000 to be paid to the victim’s mother for physical and mental trauma, to be facilitated by the DSLA