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3) The substance of the charge against the accused is that on 7.11.2019 at 9.50 PM at KNR Convention Centre, situated in Chenetha Nagar, Hamlet of Anagallu of Kurabalakota Mandal, the accused committed rape on a minor girl by name, Eddasiri Varshitha, aged 5 years and during the course of the same, caused her death. It is said that in order to cause disappearance of the dead body and with an intention to screen himself from legal punishment, threw the dead body outside the convention centre and also got his hair tonsured.

12) Though there are no eyewitnesses to the incident, but, relying upon the CC TV footage; evidence of P.Ws.4 and 5, who found the accused in the hall on that day; the accused being last seen in the company of the deceased; the stains found on the legging and frock of the deceased tallying with DNA profile of the accused; and his conduct in trying to screen away the evidence by getting himself tonsured, the trial court found him guilty on all the counts and sentenced him to death and other terms of imprisonment. Challenging the same, the accused preferred Criminal Appeal No.305 of 2020, while R.T. No.2 of 2020 is on a reference made by the trial court for confirmation of death sentence awarded against the accused.

15) Coming to the merits of the case, he would contend that the test identification parade conducted by the learned Magistrate cannot be believed for more than one reason. According to him, the evidence on record, more particularly, the evidence of PW11 would show that within three [03] days after the incident, the accused underwent zero cutting and the evidence of P.W.11 also indicate that much prior to the date of test identification parade, the photographs of the accused were shown to him by three youngsters, which indicate that by then the photo of the accused were in circulation in social media. In the absence of any material to show that persons with tonsured hair were put up along the accused as non-suspects, in the test identification parade and since the photographs were in circulation in social mediate by then, pleads that holding of test identification parade is a farce.

v) PW11 in his evidence deposed that, on 08.11.2019 at about 10.00 a.m., the accused came to his shop and asked him to do zero cutting. He did zero cutting and shaving to the accused. Similarly, the evidence of PW12 is that, on 14.11.2019 between 6.00 and 7.00 a.m., the accused came to his shop and asked him to tonsure his head. When he asked, why he wants to tonsure his head, when he is having zero cutting, he replied that to get thick hair, it is needed. Then he tonsured the hair and also clean shaved his moustache. From the evidence of these two witnesses, it is clear that the accused had zero hair cutting and couple of days later, got tonsured his head. Therefore, by the date of test identification parade, which was held on 23.11.2019, the accused got his head hair cut to zero level/tonsured.