Speedy Justice: Man Accused Of Rape-Murder Of 7 Year Old, Sentenced To Death In 30 Days

On Friday, a special POCSO Court in Merta in the Nagaur District of Rajasthan convicted a child rapist and killer, sentencing him to death on the 30th day after commission of the crime.

The Court awarded death penalty to the 25-year-old man after convicting him of raping and killing a seven-year-old girl on September 20 this year in a village within the jurisdiction of Padukalan police station in Nagaur District.

Special Judge Rekha Rathore sentenced the convict, the maternal uncle of the victim, terming his offence as the rarest of rare, after holding the trial continuously for 11 days.

Earlier, a Court in Mumbai had concluded a trial within 17 days of registering the FIR. The 53-year-old accused in that case was sentenced to three years imprisonment for stalking and assaulting a woman with intent to outrage her modesty. (read report)

In the present case, the Additional Sessions Judge held the continuous trial after the Nagaur police completed the probe into the case within six days and filed the charge sheet on September 27.

During the trial, the Court examined 29 prosecution witnesses, while the defence examined only one witness. The Court dismissed the defence witness' deposition claiming that the accused is suffering from a mental disability.

According to the prosecution, on September 20, the victim's maternal uncle lured her to an agriculture farm, where he raped her and fearing that she might disclose the incident to other family members, killed her and dumped her body behind bushes. On a complaint lodged by the girl's mother, the police managed to recover the victim's body and the accused was arrested the same day.

With PTI inputs