Surat POCSO court awards death sentence to man for rape, murder of toddler

Special POCSO court judge observed that the case was the "rarest of rare"

December 07, 2021 06:07 pm | Updated December 08, 2021 01:47 am IST - Surat

The court in Surat had convicted the accused, Guddu Yadav, on various charges of kidnapping, rape and murder under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. File

The court in Surat had convicted the accused, Guddu Yadav, on various charges of kidnapping, rape and murder under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. File

A local POSCO court in Surat, Gujarat on Tuesday sentenced a 35-year-old migrant worker to death for the rape and murder of a two and half-year-old girl in November this year.

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The court held that the case was “rarest of rare” and sentenced the accused after finding him guilty of the heinous crime of first raping and subsequently murdering the toddler.

The court wrapped trial in two weeks after the police submitted chargesheet in a week following arrest of the accused Guddu Yadav, a migrant labourer from Bihar working in a textile factory in Surat. The victim was the daughter of fellow migrant workers and her body was recovered from bushes.

During the fast track trial proceedings, the court had recorded statements of 43 witnesses.

On Tuesday, special POCSO court judge P.S. Kala observed that the case was the “rarest of rare”, and awarded capital punishment to the accused under IPC Sections 376-AB (rape on a woman under 12 years of age) and 302 (murder).

Also read | In Bihar, minor tried, convicted and sentenced in 25 minutes

The court also asked the State government to pay ₹20 lakh as compensation to the victim's family.

Earlier during the arguments for quantum of sentence, public prosecutor Nayan Sukhdawala urged the court to hand out death sentence to the convict without showing him leniency.

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