Youth sentenced to death for rape, murder

The crime, involving a minor, was committed in June

The mahila court in Pudukottai on Tuesday awarded the death penalty to a 25-year-old who was held guilty of raping and killing a seven-year-old girl at Embal village in the district. The crime was committed in June. The girl belonged to a Scheduled Caste community.

The court held that this was a “rarest of rare case”, and warranted the capital punishment.

The accused, M. Samivel, alias Raja, who belonged to the same village as that of the girl, was held guilty on three counts of murder and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The girl went missing on June 30 and was later found dead with injuries near her house. The post-mortem examination revealed that she had been raped.

Following an investigation, the police arrested Samivel, who lived near the girl’s house. The prosecution said he raped the girl and when she began to scream, hit her with a wooden log on the head, killing her.

The Embal police booked cases under various Sections of the IPC, including 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder), 376 (rape) and 302 (murder) read with Sections 5(M), 5(J)(IV) and with Section 6(1) of the POCSO (Amendment) Act, 2019 and Section 3(2)(V) of the SC/ST Act, 1989.

Days after his arrest, Samivel escaped from the Pudukottai Medical College Hospital, where he had been admitted for tests.

He was subsequently rearrested and a separate case was registered in this connection. He was later detained under the Goondas Act on the orders of the District Collector.

The chargesheet in the case was filed in September, and 18 prosecution witnesses were examined.

The court awarded the death penalty to Samivel under IPC Section 302 (murder); Section 5(M) read with 6(1) of the POCSO Act; and under Section 5 (J)(IV) read with 6(1) of the POCSO Act.

It also sentenced him to undergo life sentence under IPC Section 302 read with Section 3(2)(V) of the SC/ST Act.

The court awarded compensation of ₹5 lakh to the girl’s mother.