Kollam: A youth who raped and killed a 7-year-old girl at Kulathupuzha in 2017 was awarded triple life sentence and 26 years of rigorous imprisonment by the Additional Sess-ions Court- I (PoCSO) here on Wednesday.
Judge E. Baiju also imposed a fine of Rs 3.20 lakh on the convict, Rajesh, 25, of Rajesh Bhavan, Cherukara, Yeroor. He was exempted from death sentence considering his age, said the judge.
He was sentenced under sections of IPC for murder, rape of minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (PoCSO) sections, unnatural sex, abduction and disrespect to the dead body. The convict should undergo the sentence separately.
The incident happened on September 27, 2017 when the girl was going to a tuition centre accompanied by her grandmother in the morning. Rajesh, her uncle, waited on the way and offered to drop her at the centre but took her to the rubber estate of the Rehabili-tation Plantation Limited at Kulathupuzha.
He raped and killed her and abandoned the body in the plantation. He also insulted the body.
The body was found the next day by the plantation workers and the culprit was nabbed based on CCTV visuals that showed him taking the girl. The scientific investigation carried out by the police was commented by the court. DNA tests and medical tests proved the girl was sexually assaulted even after her death.
Special public prosecutor G. Mohanraj told DC, “trust versus lust is the crest of the case. Here, lust overtook trust in an inhuman and barbaric way. While he was abducting her to the forest, the little girl innocently asked him, ‘Uncle where are we heading to,’” he said. This case is a classic example of how trust was betrayed by the ones close to the victims, he added.
The girl’s mother expressed happiness over the verdict. “I have been waiting for this day as my daughter’s murderer got the punishment he deserved. He should not be on earth any more. My daughter suffered a lot of pain which he also should experience,” she said.
