Pathanamthitta: The Additional Sessions Court (1) sentenced a man to death for the sexual assault and murder of a five-year-old girl. Alex Pandian (26), a native of Rajapalayam, Tamil Nadu, and the second husband of the victim's mother, was convicted by Judge S Jayakumar John.

The court found him guilty of 16 charges, including murder, torture, aggravated assault, and sexual assault. The crime took place at the family's rented house in Kumbazha. A post-mortem report revealed that the child had sustained 67 injuries.

Police investigations revealed that Pandian had sexually assaulted the child earlier in Tamil Nadu. However, the prosecution was unable to prove the charge of destroying evidence.

The mother found the child at home with numerous injuries on her body on April 5, 2021. When she questioned Alex about it, he assaulted her. With the help of locals, she took the child to the hospital. Shortly after, the police took Alex into custody, and it was later confirmed that the child was murdered. The police found that Alex was addicted to drugs and had attempted to escape from custody multiple times.