Hyderabad, June 22 (PTI) Telangana Home Minister Mohammed Mahmood Ali Saturday directed Warangal police to take all steps according to law to ensure tough punishment to the guilty in the rape and murder of a nine-month-old girl in the town.

He also told the Warangal Police Commissioner to make a proposal for conducting trial in the case by a fast-track court, an official release said.

The nine-month-old girl died after a man apparently gagged her after allegedly raping her Wednesday, triggering protests by locals who demanded stern punishment to the accused.

The 28-year old accused, identified as Praveen of the same locality and working in a hotel, was arrested after interrogation, police said.

Preliminary investigation by police showed that the accused allegedly committed rape and murder of the baby after taking her (who was in sleep) away from her mother on the night of June 18, the release said.

Warangal has witnessed protests since the incident came to light on June 19.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)