The Karnataka Principle District and Sessions court in Bagalkot has awarded life imprisonment to a man who had raped a mentally challenged woman.

The court has also fined the man Rs 42,000.

Hanumatha Magundappa Hulasageri was given the punishment for the "rarest of the rare case".

The convict, a resident of Nandikeshwara village in Badami taluk had committed the crime on May 17, 2019. When the whole village was busy at a religious fair event, Hulasageri found the victim alone in the house had committed the crime.

He had caused serious head injuries to her and bitten her when she resisted. He also tried to strangle her and also stole a mobile phone from her house while escaping.

The Badami police had registered the case in this regard. The investigation was a challenge for the police as the victim was a mentally challenged person and there were no eyewitnesses.

The investigating team had collected samples of impressions of fingers and bite marks from the body of the victim. The accused was caught by the police with the assistance of dental doctors. The police tracked the accused after confirming the finger prints.

The impressions of bite marks on the victim was considered as the scientific evidence. Dr. Ashith Acharya of Sri Manjunatha Dental College had given a report confirming that the accused had made the bite marks on the victim.

Dr. Ashith Acharya had also given a report on dental mark samples of the accused in the sensational Nirbhaya case that shook the nation.

Judge N.A. Vijaya passed the order recently. Public prosecutor V.G. Hebasura argued for the prosecution. The charge sheet in the case was submitted by R.H. Hanapura. (IANS/PG)