Hyderabad court sentenced Rajanala Ramesh, a 28-year-old ragpicker, to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 15,000 for the brutal assault and rape of a six-year-old girl

HYDERABAD: A city court on Friday sentenced 28-year-old ragpicker Rajanala Ramesh to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 for the brutal assault and rape of a six-year-old homeless girl at Nallakunta in 2023.
T. Anitha, XII Additional Sessions Judge, Nampally, also awarded Rs 7 lakh compensation to the survivor. Public Prosecutor A. Ram Reddy stated that witness testimonies, electronic evidence, and medical reports established Ramesh’s guilt, leading to his conviction.
According to Nallakunta police, the victim’s family had migrated from Nandyal, Andhra Pradesh, and was living at Kacheguda railway station. The girl’s mother had separated from her husband and was staying with her children.
In June 2023, Ramesh, who lived on the roadside near them, lured the child by offering to buy her breakfast and took her to Nallakunta. Behind parked cars, he assaulted her. When she cried for help, he attacked her with a liquor bottle, kicked her in the stomach, and hit her face with a stone, leaving her severely injured. Locals, alerted by her screams, rushed to the scene, prompting Ramesh to flee.
Nallakunta police arrested him based on CCTV footage and other evidence, filing a chargesheet in August 2023.
The court took up the trial a year ago and pronounced the verdict on Friday, an official confirmed.
(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)