How much it costs to rape ? Law..

HYDERABAD: G Siddhartha Reddy, prime accused in the Pratyusha murder case, was sentenced to six years imprisonment by the metropolitan sessions judge here on Monday.

He was sentenced to undergo five years imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 on charges of abetment of suicide and one more year of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 for attempting suicide.

Reacting to the verdict, Pratyusha’s mother P Sarojini Devi, said: “This is only 50 per cent punishment. I’ll make sure that the accused gets life imprisonment.’’

The CBI took Reddy into custody immediately after the verdict was announced. Reddy refused to respond to posers from reporters, saying: “I have nothing to tell you’’.

Pratyusha, then an upcoming actress, and her classmate Siddhartha Reddy, fell in love and planned to get married. However, their proposed marriage was opposed by the Reddy family.

According to investigations, Reddy met Pratyusha at a beauty parlour on Feb 23, 2002 and took her away in his car. He bought 250 ml of novocran, a pesticide, from a shop in Hyderguda.

Both of them consumed the poison laced with cola. Later Reddy took Pratyusha to Care Hospital where both of them were admitted.

Pratyusha died the next day. Subsequently, investigators concluded that Siddhartha had driven Pratyusha to suicide.