Nuh court gives 20yrs to man for raping, killing boy, staging suicide

Class 10 student went missing in Oct 2019, found hanging in cattle shed; autopsy exposed sexual assault and throttling. Fine of ₹45,000 imposed

A special court in Nuh on Tuesday sentenced a 33-year-old man to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting and murdering a 17-year-old boy in 2019 before staging the crime as a suicide.

Accused held since Nov 15, 2019, got bail in Aug 2022; DNA and forensic evidence sealed conviction. Prosecution had sought life imprisonment (Shutterstock)

The fast-track court of additional sessions judge Ashu Sanjeev Tinjan, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, also imposed an overall fine of ₹45,000 after convicting him under Sections 302 (murder) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.

The Class 10 student went missing after leaving his house in a village under Sadar Nuh police station on October 31, 2019, and was found hanging inside a cattle shed the next morning. Initially treated as a suspected suicide under Section 174 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (inquiries into suicide or suspicious deaths), a detailed autopsy received on November 10 revealed sexual assault, throttling and that the body had been hanged after death.

Deputy district attorney Manish Yadav said DNA, forensic evidence, technical investigation and witness statements led to the conviction. He said the accused was arrested on November 15, 2019, remained in jail till August 17, 2022, before securing bail, and was convicted on July 22. Yadav added, “The prosecution had sought life imprisonment considering the heinous nature of the crime.” The Nuh police spokesperson Krishan Kumar said the investigation found no evidence against the eight other suspects named in the FIR.