India, June 6 -- A special fast-track court (FTSC) in Bhusawal, Jalgaon district, on June 4 sentenced to death a youth, Mahendra Barela, 19, for gruesome rape and quadruple murder of four minor siblings.

Special judge S R Yadav pronounced the judgment under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The judgment read: "From the nature of injuries caused to the victims using an iron axe, one can understand the manner of brutality in committing the murders. I am of the view that the young age of the accused cannot be a mitigating circumstance for a lesser sentence of life imprisonment."

The court has allowed the accused to move Bombay High Court...