Man sentenced to life for rape and murder of nine-year-old boy in Moinabad

A 33-year-old man, earlier arrested for rape and murder of a minor boy, was sentences to undergo life imprisonment by the Fast Track Special Court for trial and disposal of rape and POCSO cases at Rajendranagar on Tuesday (December 30, 2025). The court also imposed a fine of ₹21,000 on the accused.

The convict, Vadla Santhosh, was arrested by the Moinabad police in 2016 under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in connection with the abduction, sexual assault and murder of the nine-year-old victim.

According to the police, the victim went out to play in the afternoon of December 4, 2016, and failed to return home. His mother lodged a complaint with the Moinabad police. A case of a missing child was initially registered and an investigation was taken up.

During the course of investigation, the police discovered the boy’s body inside a water tank. Following the recovery, the case was altered to include charges of kidnapping for ransom, unnatural offence, murder, causing disappearance of evidence and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the POCSO Act.

Police arrested Vadla Santhosh on December 5, 2016, and remanded him to judicial custody. A chargesheet was subsequently filed after investigators collected material evidence linking him to the crime.

During the trial, the prosecution examined witnesses and placed documentary and material evidence before the court. After completion of the proceedings, the court convicted the accused and awarded life imprisonment for murder and kidnapping, along with separate rigorous imprisonment terms for offences under Section 377 of the IPC, provisions of the POCSO Act and for causing disappearance of evidence.