Gurugram: Man gets jail till death for rape and murder of neighbour’s toddler

Police said the convict threw the body off a cliff to cover up his crime and even joined the search operation with the family and villagers

Gurugram: A special court in Nuh sentenced a 35-year-old man to rigorous life imprisonment till the end of his natural life for kidnapping, raping and murdering his neighbour’s three-and-a-half-year-old daughter in November 2024.

Gurugram: Man gets jail till death for rape and murder of neighbour’s toddler

The fast-track court of additional sessions judge Ashu Sanjeev Tinjan also imposed a fine of ₹1.3 lakh on the convict on Wednesday.

The court found him guilty under sections 103(1) (murder), 137(2) (kidnapping), 65(2) (rape on woman under 12 years of age), 238 (causing disappearance of evidence) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

The convict lured the victim with candies while she was playing outside her home on the evening of November 30, 2024.

After she went missing, her family began searching for her and found the body on a boulder 20-30 feet below a cliff in Aravalli area, at least 6-km away from their village which falls under Pinangwa police station jurisdiction.

Special public prosecutor, Nuh, Vijay Sehrawat said the convict was arrested near Marora village along Delhi-Mumbai expressway while trying to flee after the body was recovered.

“Forensic examination of his clothes found blood stains, and DNA sampling confirmed that the stains belonged to the deceased, proving to be a key evidence in the case,” he said.

Sehrawat said the accused strangled the girl and then smashed her head with a stone before throwing the body off the cliff.

“Prosecution had urged the court to treat the case as rarest of rare while praying for capital punishment for the accused. However, court sentenced him to rigorous life imprisonment till his death,” the prosecutor said, adding the convict was married and had three children.

Police filed chargesheet against the accused on December 11, 2024 and the trial started by December 19. On October 31, 2025, the prosecution concluded arguments and examination of 22 witnesses, following which the defense counsel had repeatedly sought adjournments on various grounds. However, the court refused to grant further hearing dates and pronounced him guilty on April 18.