Agartala, Aug 22 (IANS): A fast-track special court in Tripura on Wednesday awarded death sentence to a 27-years-old youth accused of raping and murdering a minor girl last year, a government Public Prosecutor said.

This is the first time in Tripura the death sentence was awarded under the POCSO Act.

The special fast track court judge in North Tripura district Gautam Sarkar awarded the death sentence to Sanjoy Tanti, accused of raping and murdering a 7-year-old girl on September 24, 2018.

"Police had recovered the mutilated body of the victim from a jungle at Maheshpur (in northern Tripura) three days after the rape and murder. The accused during the probe confessed to his crime," government public prosecutor Sudharshan Sharma told IANS over phone from north Tripura district headquarters Dharmanagar.

He said the judge after hearing the views of 21 witnesses and examining various evidences delivered the verdict under various sections of Indian Penal Code including 302 and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.