Chandigarh, July 17 - A man, who sodomized and later murdered a six-year-old boy, was given the death sentence by a court here Friday.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Raj Rahul Garg had Tuesday held Pappu Paswan guilty in a case of sodomy and murder of the six-year-old boy.

The entire evidence in this case was completed in a single day during which statements of 12 witnesses were recorded and cross-examined.

The victim, who went missing Feb 13 this year, was last seen with Paswan, the witnesses told the court.

The police investigated the matter after the victim's father, a resident of the city's colony number 5, filed a missing person's complaint.

Paswan admitted to the police that after sodomizing the boy, he slit his throat with a blade. He said that he committed the crime because the victim's father, who had helped him earlier, could not provide Rs.5,000 that he sought. He then dumped the body of the victim in bushes. The convict is a relative of the victim's mother.

Prosecution lawyer Manu Kakkar said that the convict was awarded capital punishment as he had sodomized and murdered a minor boy.