A special POCSO court in Thoothukudi has sentenced 38-year-old Dharma Muneeswaran, alias Maveeran, to double death penalty — one each for rape and murder — for the sexual assault and killing of a 17-year-old Class 12 student from Vedanatham village. The court found him guilty under the BNS and the POCSO Act, with the verdict coming around 75 days after the crime.
The schoolgirl went missing on March 10, 2026, and her body was found the next day in a scrub forest near her village. Police solved the case using CCTV footage, mobile phone location data, and DNA evidence. Investigators tracked the accused through footage showing him travelling on a stolen two-wheeler with an altered number plate. He was arrested on March 19, and a detailed chargesheet was filed soon after.
Dharma Muneeswaran is a history-sheeter with more than 20 criminal cases against him. He had previously been convicted in the rape and murder of a 60-year-old woman and was out on conditional bail when the latest crime was committed. Prosecutors and officials described the swift conviction as a significant step towards justice, though the death sentences will require confirmation by higher courts before they can be carried out.
