POCSO Court In Surat Awards Death Sentence In 29 Days For Rape And Murder Of Two And Half Year Old Girl

A Special POCSO Court in Surat has awarded death penalty to a man who was arrested for charges of rape and murder of a two and half year old girl in Pendesara area of Surat in South Gujarat. The Court pronounced its verdict within 29 days of the accused being arrested by the police.

The Court has also ordered compensation of Rs. 20 lakh to the family of the victim under the NALSA's compensation scheme.

The Court took note of the heinous nature of the crime committed by the accused by raping the minor girl after watching porn clips in his mobile and considered the case as a rarest of rare case to award capital punishment to the accused.

As per the case of the prosecution, the incident happened in the late evening of November 4, 2021, when the accused Guddu Yadav kidnapped the girl residing in the building where he lived, by offering her chocolate. He had taken the girl to the nearby bushes, first raped her and then killed her by strangulating her when she screamed due to pain.

The police had started the investigation of the case on the complaint filed by the girl's parents and nabbed the accused on November 7 based upon the CCTV footage in which he was seen taking the girl away. The police had also recovered a diary and a pen from the spot. The police filed a charge sheet within eight days and the prosecution Lawyer Nayan Sukhadwala finished leading evidence and completed his arguments within seven days.

Advocate AA Shaikh on behalf of the accused submitted that the prosecution case is based upon assumptions and suspicion. The case is based upon circumstantial evidence and that the prosecution could not prove the case beyond doubt.

After hearing the parties, POCSO Court Judge PS Kala found that the accused knew the girl as she resided in the same building where he lived.

The Court noted that the accused used to keep porn clips in his mobile phone and he kidnapped the girl to satisfy his sexual urges. He committed the act despite being married and being the father of two children.

The Court noted that the accused did the act so ruthlessly and heinously that the girl's intestines had come out. The Court found that the accused had committed the act with intention and knowledge.

The Court observed that such a heinous crime is against human values.