A court in Gujarat Wednesday sentenced a man to death for the rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in 1999.

District sessions court judge J.F. Nariyeliwala pronounced the verdict against Ramesh Rathod in Surat city, about 250 km from here. Rathod worked as watchman in the apartment colony where the family of Khushbu Naresh Patel, the victim, lived.

He kidnapped the girl, raped and murdered her and dumped the body in a farm outside the city.

"We managed to collect enough circumstantial evidence against the accused," public prosecutor Bharat Dalal said.

Ilaben Patel, the victim's mother, said the family was satisfied with the verdict. "Such criminals must be punished severely to set an example," she said.