A court here Wednesday awarded death sentence to a contractual teacher for raping a four-year-old girl in this Madhya Pradesh district nearly three months ago. Additional District and Sessions Judge Dinesh Kumar Sharma awarded the death penalty to Mahendra Singh Gond (23), under IPC section 376 AB (rape on woman under 12 years of age) and section 5/6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The girl, who was raped on July 1, is still in a critical condition and undergoing treatment at a Delhi-based hospital. The court also sentenced the convict to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping the girl.

"The court awarded the death penalty to Gond after recording the statements of the girl and her parents over video-conferencing as they are in Delhi," District Prosecution Officer Rampal Singh told PTI.