A Mysuru Fast Track Special Court has sentenced 32-year-old Karthik alias Garadi to death for the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl, in a verdict that will now be sent to the Karnataka High Court for confirmation.
The court convicted Karthik under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and Section 103 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Special Court judge Anand P Hogade directed that the sentence be carried out by hanging, as prescribed under Section 393(5) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
The case arose from the death of the child on October 9, 2025, in Mysuru’s Nazarbad police limits. The girl belonged to a nomadic family that had travelled from Kalaburagi to Mysuru for the Dasara season. The family sold balloons and other trinkets and lived in a makeshift tent on a footpath along Manasara Road.
According to the prosecution, Karthik, a bus cleaner, had interacted with the child after following the family from around 9 pm the previous night. Investigators said he abducted her from the tent at about 3.21 am, carried her roughly 100 feet away and sexually assaulted her. Her father discovered that she was missing in the morning and found her body after a search.
Police arrested Karthik within 15 hours of the crime from a bar in Kollegala, in neighbouring Chamarajanagar district, about 65 km from Mysuru. The prosecution told the court that he was a repeat offender and was out on bail in a case involving an alleged attempt to murder an official in Kollegala.
Special public prosecutor KB Jayanthi said the prosecution had sought the death penalty by arguing that the case fell within the “rarest of rare” category. The prosecution cited the victim’s age, the brutality of the assault and the 27 stab and cut injuries recorded in the case. Jayanthi said the evidence included witness testimonies and documentary material and that it established the accused’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt.
The chargesheet filed by investigating officer P Rajendra, ACP of the Devaraja sub-division, listed 83 witnesses. Child rights activists welcomed the verdict and noted that the case had been decided within a year of the crime.
The court also ordered compensation of Rs 13.5 lakh for the victim’s family under the National Legal Services Authority scheme. After the verdict, Jayanthi said Karthik sought a review through a lawyer provided by the District Legal Services Authority, citing his aged mother and mentally challenged brother as dependants.
The complete proceedings have been directed to be submitted to the Karnataka High Court “forthwith” for confirmation of the death sentence. The sentence cannot be executed unless the High Court confirms it.
