KOCHI: A woman’s lover was sentenced to death by a court here on Monday for raping and murdering her four-year-old daughter at Chottanikkara in 2013. Ernakulam Additional Sessions Court granted death sentence to Kolancheri native Renjtih, 31, who is the first accused in the murder.

The murder sent shockwaves in Kerala after the 29-year-old woman, Rani, disclosed to police that the girl was killed because she had become a hurdle in her affair with the prime accused Renjith. Rani, and Renjith’s friend Thiruvaniyur native Basil, who had also sexually assaulted the girl, were sentenced to double life term in the case. The POCSO court also imposed a fine of Rs50,000 on Renjith and Rani each and Rs25,000 on Basil.

The three convicts were found guilty by the court under Juvenile Justice Act and the POCSO Act. Rani was given the maximum punishment after the court observed that a mother, who was supposed to protect the child, had harmed her instead.

Renjith had attempted suicide on Friday, the day the court had found the trio guilty and deferred award of sentence for Monday. He was admitted to the Kottayam Medical College Hospital. Doctors have confirmed that he is out of danger now.

The case relates to murder of a kindergarten student in Chottanikkara by her mother, Rani, her paramour Renjith and his friend Basil on Oct.30, 2013. The girl and her mother were living in a rented house at Ambadimala in Chottanikkara. The girl was the eldest among the two daughters of Rani. While her husband was in jail in connection with a drug case, Rani developed an affair with Renjith, who used to visit her. According to the police, the girl was killed and the body was buried at a work site at Arakkunnam. The mother then filed a complaint at the police station saying her daughter was missing. Inconsistencies in her statement prompted cops to question her. During interrogation she admitted that the girl had been killed and her body was buried at a worksite at Arakkunnam near Piravom. The police recovered the body which was found buried about six feet under the earth covered with a layer of rock and laterite soil.