Indian top cop's son to die for murder

Santosh Kumar Singh, convicted 12 days ago by the Delhi High Court, was sentenced seven years after he was initially acquitted of raping and murdering Priyadarshni Mattoo at her Delhi home.

Priyadarshini's father, Chaman Lal Mattoo, hailed the sentence.

"I won't get my daughter back but certainly such a judgment is a benchmark for the women of this country. The soul of my daughter will now, I hope, rest in peace," Mattoo told the CNN-IBN news channel.

Singh assaulted Mattoo before strangling her with a wire and then smashed in her face with a motorcycle helmet.

B.C. Wali, one of the lawyers representing the Mattoo family, said the turnaround of the case was a major victory.

"The important thing is that the verdict of (lower) trial court was overturned by the High Court. That is the victory for us," Wali said.

The High Court said the earlier aquittal was "perverse" and had "shocked the conscience of the judiciary."