Santosh Singh sentenced to death in Priyadarshini Mattoo case

New Delhi, Oct 30 (UNI) The Delhi High Court today awarded the death penalty to Santosh Kumar Singh in the Priyadarshini Mattoo rape and murder case.

A Division Bench, comprising Justice R S Sodhi and Justice P K Bhasin, announced the punishment after it had convicted Santosh on October 17, setting aside a trial court's verdict that had acquitted him of the charges in the case in December 1999.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had sought a death sentence for the convict.

Santosh, a law student in the Delhi University and the son of a retired senior IPS officer, had raped and murdered Priyadarshini, a third-year law student, in January 1996.

Priyadarshini was strangled to death in the bedroom of her South Delhi apartment with 19 injuries on her person.

The trial court had acquitted Santosh mainly due to alleged lapses and unfairness on the part of the prosecution.

UNI SSS RL AT HT1550