Bahraich (Uttar Pradesh), Aug 17 (IANS): Within 55 days of committing the crime, an accused has been handed out a death sentence for rape and murder of an 18-month-old girl.

A Bahraich court announced the verdict on Monday.

The entire proceedings, from the arrest of Parshuram to his conviction, took 55 days, which as per the police is a record.

The trial was over in just eight working days.

The incident took place on June 22 when Parshuram, 30, raped the victim inside a school where she died.

He was arrested after an encounter in which he suffered a bullet injury on his leg.

Additional Director General, Gorakhpur Zone, Akhil Kumar, said the conviction was ensured in a record time because of the meticulous evidence collection and filing of charge sheet by the Bahraich police.

Superintendent of Police, Bahraich, Sujata Singh, who led the investigation, said the accused was booked under sections pertaining to rape, murder and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

"We ensured that all the evidence was collected and the charge sheet was filed in 28 days. While the samples were collected fast, the new FSL laboratory in Gorakhpur gave the DNA report in 37 days to make the case watertight," she said .

She further said that the DNA report showed that samples of accused matched with those found on the body of the toddler after her rape.

The case went on trial from August 2 in the court of Additional Sessions Judge (Rape and POCSO Act I) Nitin Pandey.

The court convicted Parshuram on August 12 in just eight working days due to the coordination of the prosecution.

"The judgment in record time will give a strong message to offenders in the society," said the officer.

Additional chief secretary (home), Avanish Awasthi, has announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh to the Bahraich police, while DGP Mukul Goel announced commendation disc to the investigation officer of the case and appreciation letter to the supervisory officers, along with FSL team and prosecution.