Hyderabad: A Warangal court, on Thursday (August 8), awarded the death sentence to Praveen, who has been convicted for the rape and murder of a 9-month-old in June 2019. The judgement was declared within 48 days of the crime.

Warangal district court judge Vijay Kumar disclosed the punishment by reportedly claiming that the accused, Praveen, will be hanged to death.

Praveen, the 28-year-old accused, was arrested after he brutally raped and murdered a nine-month-old girl child in Telangana's Warangal. The incident had triggered widespread protests demanding strict action against the accused.

The accused had belonged to the same locality as that of the child. He was working in a hotel and was arrested after interrogation. Warangal Police had earlier said that they suspected the crime to be a case of rape and murder as bloodstains were seen on the infant's private parts.

The child was asleep alongside her parents when Praveen kidnapped her. He then took the child to an isolated place and raped her. The mother noticed the child missing and alerted her family, who later went in search of her.

The parents later noticed Praveen walking with the infant, covered in a towel. He dropped the child and tried to escape, but was caught and handed over to the police, who arrested him.

The motionless child was rushed to a nearby hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.

Minutes after the Warangal court awarded the death sentence to Praveen, people were seen celebrating at the court premises.