Though the loss of their daughter has left an unbridgeable void in their lives, for the parents of software engineer Esther Anuhya, death penalty to her rapist and killer has brought a sense of relief.

JS Prasad, retired professor and father of Anuhya, welcomed the verdict of a special women’s court. It sentenced her killer Chandrabhan Sanap to death on Friday.

Amid the stream of visitors including many prominent personalities to his house in Noble Colony in Machlipatanam town of Krishna district in Andhra Pradesh, Prasad said that he was satisfied with the judgement. “This should be deterrence for others indulging in such barbaric attack on women”, said Prof Prasad, who has been grieving the loss of his daughter for the last two years.

Anuhya, an employee of software giant Tata Consultancy Services in Mumbai, had gone missing on January 5, 2014 and her body was later found burnt near Eastern Expressway in Bhandup.

Subsequent investigation led the police to Sanap, who admitted to the ghastly crime. After offering a lift from Victoria Terminus Station to Andheri to Anuhya, Sanap had abducted and raped her and after murdering her, he burnt the body with petrol.

Judge Vrushali V Joshi describing the crime as rarest of the rare sentenced him to death for her murder and also awarded life imprisonment for her rape. The court also ordered a compensation of ` 50,000 to Anuhya’s family.

“Nothing can bring back my daughter but I have a satisfaction that the judiciary has delivered justice in this case. Many people had told me that nothing will happen and case will drag on for years but I had full faith in the court”, her father said.

Baba Prasad, Chairman, Machlipatanam Municipality and many other political leaders were among the visitors at Anuhya’s residence.

There was a lot of buzz in the town since this morning as the judge was expected to announce the sentencing of Sanap on Friday.