INDIA: MAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR RAPE, MURDER OF 9-YEAR-OLD

January 31, 2023:

A 22-year-old man was sentenced to death on 30 January 2023 by a special court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases in Vapi of Valsad district (Gujarat) for the rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl in February 2020.
The minor was found hanging at her home and the accused attempted to stage a scene of a suicide. However, a postmortem and police investigation revealed that the girl had been sexually assaulted, sodomised and then strangled.
The court of special judge K J Modi convicted and sentenced Pradip Rajesh alias Rajendra alias Rameshwar Gupta, a labourer and native of Bihar, to be hanged till death for the rape and murder of the minor. The court also ordered that a compensation of Rs 17 lakh to be paid to the family of the victim.
Police arrested the accused three days after the offence was registered.