4 min readLudhianaMar 31, 2023 07:54 AM IST
First published on: Mar 30, 2023 at 06:58 AM IST
Holding that “there can never be a graver and heinous crime” than the rape and murder of child who was unable to understand what was happening with her, a fast track special POCSO court in Ludhiana has awarded death sentence to two persons convicted for raping and killing a 7-year-old girl in 2019.
Additional sessions judge Amar Jeet Singh, while pronouncing the verdict Wednesday, said, “The case at hand falls in rarest of the rare category. The circumstances establish the depraved acts of the accused and they call for only one sentence, and that is death sentence”.
As per the case file, the girl was kidnapped by a 25-year-old relative on March 10, 2019, on the pretext of buying candies. Later, the man, along with a 23-year-old accomplice raped the girl and then killed the minor by strangling her and smashing her head with brick. The prime accused is a native of Uttar Pradesh and resides in Ludhiana’s Doraha.
Special public prosecutor BD Gupta said that the court awarded death sentence to the two convicts under Section 6 of POCSO Act and Section 302 of IPC. He added that postmortem report said that the girl died due to asphyxia and head injury. As per the forensic report, the vaginal swabs of the victim matched with DNA profile of both accused.
The brutality of the crime was reflected in the postmortem report which said that the victim had multiple bruises on neck, head, swelling in scalp and her hymen was torn and bleeding.
“Prosecution argued that convicts have been held guilty under section 6 of POCSO Act, which also provides death penalty and any lesser sentence would not do justice in the case. The defense counsel argued that the accused were drunk at the time,” said Gupta.
Pronouncing the verdict, the court said: “The doctrine of ‘rarest of rare’ confines to two aspects and when both aspects are satisfied, only then death penalty can be imposed. Firstly, the case must clearly fall within the ambit of rarest of rare and secondly, when the second option is unquestionably foreclosed.”
The court said that several “aggravating circumstances” such as the victim being an innocent girl of tender age, defenseless and unprotected, convicts capable of understanding the consequences, despicable nature of offence, bestiality conduct to satisfy lust, no remorse after committing the crime etc, make the case fit for ‘rarest of rare category’.
On defense counsel’s argument that convicts were from poor families, the court said that the “victim went with her relative after posing faith in him” but “she was brutally raped by both convicts…they smashed her head with a brick and killed her in a cold blooded manner which can never be condoned otherwise it would send a wrong message to the society.”
“There can never be a graver and heinous crime than the rape and murder of a 7-and-a-half-year old who was unable to understand what was happening with her. Convicts were not only insolent to law but it was a betrayal of trust of a minor kid,” said the court.
Taking note of the fact that main accused who abducted the girl was her relative, the court said: “When the perpetrator is a known person, (the crime) is graver and rarest of rare… It destroys the very soul of hapless woman. The court calls for imposition of capital punishment upon the convicts and any lesser would do grave injustice not only to victim and her family but to collective conscience of society as well. Convicts are sentenced to death under section 6 of POCSO Act and 302 of IPC and they are to be hanged by neck till dead.”
The court has also awarded them additional 5 years of rigorous imprisonment under Sections 363 and 366 of IPC and announced compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the family.
The brutality of the crime was reflected in the postmortem report which said that the victim had multiple bruises. (Representational image) 
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