E-Paper
Ludhiana: Labourer gets life term for sexually assaulting, murdering toddler
The court of additional sessions judge Amar Jeet Singh (fast-track special court under POCSO) gave Ajay Kumar, who is from of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, life imprisonment for sexually assaulting the toddler and life imprisonment for murdering him. Both the sentences shall run concurrently
A local court has sentenced a labourer for strangulating a toddler to death after sodomising him in a factory in Salem Tabri area.
The court of additional sessions judge Amar Jeet Singh (fast-track special court under POCSO) gave Ajay Kumar, who is from of Sultanpur in Uttar Pradesh, life imprisonment for sexually assaulting the toddler and life imprisonment for murdering him. Both the sentences shall run concurrently.
According to the court, life imprisonment awarded to the convict under section 6 of Protection of children from sexual offences (POCSO) Act means that he shall remain incarcerated for the remainder of his life or till his death with a rider that he shall not to be released on parole at least till he spent 30 effective years in the prison.
The court has also slapped a fine of ₹2 lakh for sexually assaulting the boy and ₹1 lakh for murdering him. Out of fine imposed against the convict, ₹2.5 lakh is to be paid to the parents of the victim as compensation.
The convict was arrested on May 16, 2022 by Salem Tabri Police a day after the crime. An FIR was lodged against him on May 15, 2022 following the complaint of a factory worker, who is a resident of Bhattian Bet, the uncle of the victim.
The complainant stated that he was living in the labour quarter in a factory. His friend, Ajay, on May 15, 2022 asked him to give keys of the factory as he wanted to rest for a while.
The complainant further added that he had asked his four-and-a-half-year old nephew to go and handover the keys to him. When the toddler did not return, they started searching for him. Later, he was found murdered under heaps of clothes in a factory. He was strangulated to death after sexual assault. The Salem Tabri police had lodged an FIR under sections 377, 302 of the IPC and section 6 of the POCSO Act. The accused was later arrested.
