A Bihar court on Thursday awarded death sentence to two persons for raping and murdering a 17-year-old girl in Sahpur.

Court officials said Bhagalpur First Class Additional District and Session Judge Alok Chandra Prasad awarded the death sentence to Ashish Mandal, 25 and Chandradeo Mandal, 30, both residents of Sahpur village.

"Both were charged with rape of Chanda Kumari in a field and later strangulating her to death with her dupatta on August 13, 2004," police officials said.

A first information report was lodged on the basis of the statement of her younger sister who was accompanying her and witnessed the incident.