A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to death by hanging for the kidnap, rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl near a popular festival in India. The Fast Track Special POCSO Court, which handles rape and child sexual abuse cases, delivered the sentence on Saturday, according to The Hindu.
Girl went missing during Dasara festival
The girl had come to Mysuru, in southwest India, with her family to sell balloons during Dasara, a major Hindu festival that commemorates the triumph of good over evil. Eight members of her family had been sleeping in a temporary shed in front of the Dasara Exhibition Grounds on the night of October 8, 2025, when the girl went missing.
Her body was found next to the shed on open grounds early the next morning. In their police complaint, the girl's parents stated that she had been kidnapped, raped and murdered, reports The New Indian Express.
Arrest and conviction
Using CCTV footage and technical evidence, Nazarbad police arrested the man, identified as Karthik, within 24 hours of the crime. He was found guilty on Thursday of kidnap, rape and murder of the nine-year-old girl.
Broader context of violence against women
India introduced stricter legislation to crack down on violence against women and girls following the Delhi Nirbhaya rape case in 2012, when a woman was gang-raped on a bus and died from her injuries. Criminal penalties for sexual offences, rape, stalking, voyeurism, and acid attacks were strengthened following the attack. Institutional support systems were also introduced.
However, fourteen years on, protesters earlier this month said they still did not feel safe walking the streets. Protests erupted in Delhi after successive rape cases, including the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old in a public park by three men who posed as police officers. Vaishnavi Dhruw, 21, a history student at Delhi University, told The Guardian: “I don’t know a single woman who lives in this city and feels safe.”
In 2018, one woman reported a rape every 15 minutes on average in India, according to Government data. The numbers were believed to be far higher due to chronic under-reporting.
