Crime news: A 24-year-old man was sentenced to death Sessions Court in Pune on Friday (March 22) for the rape and murder of a six-year-old minor in Pune’s Maval Taluka. The incident dates back to August 2022 when the girl, 6, was playing in the courtyard of her house. The accused, a resident of Kamshet in Maval Taluka, abducted her, raped and slit her throat. The body of the deceased girl was found the next day in the backyard of the accused.
The mother of the convict was also sentenced to seven years of imprisonment for concealing evidence and not reporting the incident to the police.
During the investigation, both the accused had confessed to the crime but later pleaded not guilty after a charge sheet was filed in the court by the police.
What did the police say?
According to Public Prosecutor Senior Advocate Rajesh Kavediya, during the trial, the prosecution submitted that "on the basis of all evidence brought on record, the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused kidnapped the deceased girl while she was playing in the courtyard, took her to his home, committed aggravated sexual assault on the deceased, and murdered her brutally by cutting her throat”.
"The accused thereafter attempted to hide the dead body by burying it in a pit below a tree behind his house. His mother had hidden the clothes and articles on the person of the deceased to protect her son from punishment, and so both accused should be convicted," Kavediya added.
The police official further said that the accused is a “sex maniac” and is “obsessed with uncontrolled, relentless sexual thoughts”. He is also addicted to viewing child pornography, the police said.
PP Kavediya expressed his gratitude towards the court for the speedy trial.
More about the case
The case came to trial in October 2022, and 29 witnesses were produced in eight months after the charge sheet was filed.
The Sessions Court, in its order, stated that, "The present crime seems to be one of the most heinous, brutal, and barbaric acts by a sexually obsessed and hardened cruel person."
The trial was conducted by Additional Sessions Court Judge BP Kshirsagar of Pune Sessions Court.
The incident occurred in August 2022. The case was registered at Kamshet Police Station under Pune Rural Police, and the conviction came in approximately one year and seven months.
(With ANI inputs)
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