Gujarat court awards death penalty to man for rape, murder of six-year-old girl

The court considered the deposition of 28 witnesses in the case as well as 94 annexures of documentary evidence while pronouncing the accused guilty. Among the important pieces of evidence was the DNA report of a sample of the accused’s hair that matched with a few strands of hair recovered from the fist of the victim during post-mortem.

The court also considered the deposition of the victim’s brother, who had also pleaded with the accused to take him along for a ride on his motorcycle when the accused was luring the victim to accompany him. The witness told the court that the accused had agitatedly asked the victim’s brother to get off his motorcycle before taking the six-year-old away.

Special POCSO Judge C K Chauhan, upheld the prosecution case, awarding a term of seven years’ imprisonment under Section 363 of the Indian Penal Code for kidnapping as well as imprisonment for life for murder under Section 302 of IPC. The court also considered the prosecution case and awarded capital punishment to the accused under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, which lays down provisions for the rape of a minor.

The court, while awarding the capital punishment, also noted that the accused has a history of crime. He had previously been arrested in a case of murder of a woman in 2018 where he allegedly aided the woman’s husband in setting her on fire. The accused was out on bail in the case when he raped the minor.