Life term for fifth juvenile in gangrape, murder case of minor sisters in UP’s Nighasan

The Pocso court found the juvenile guilty under IPC sections 302/34, 363, 452, 323, 376 DA, 201 and section 5G/6 of the Pocso Act, says special public prosecutor

LAKHIMPUR KHERI A special Pocso court here on Friday awarded life sentence to the fifth juvenile delinquent in the case related to the brutal murder and gangrape of two minor sisters in Nighasan kotwali area on September 14, 2022.

According to the court order, the convict would have to pay a total fine of ₹46,000 and all sentences would run concurrently. (Pic for representation)

The special Pocso court of additional district judge (ADJ) Rahul Singh I had held the juvenile delinquent guilty on August 22 and fixed August 25 as the date for pronouncing the sentence.

Special public prosecutor (Pocso cases) Brijesh Pandey said the special court had found the juvenile guilty under IPC sections 302/34 (murder), 363 (kidnapping), 452 (house-trespass with intent to hurt), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 376DA (gangrape of a minor under sixteen), 201 (destroying evidence), and section 5G/6 of the Pocso Act.

He said the special Pocso court heard arguments on the quantum of sentence. The prosecution urged the court for capital punishment to the juvenile convict, arguing he had committed a heinous crime against the girls, added Pandey.

He said the defence counsels urged the court to award minimum punishment to the juvenile convict in view of his age and also cited Section 21 of the Juvenile Justice Act to substantiate their arguments.

After hearing the arguments of both sides, the Pocso court held that the daylight kidnapping of the two minors, their gangrape and killing were heinous crimes by the convict and pronounced the sentence, said Pandey.

The court held that the convict had even committed a crime against the dignity of the bodies by hanging them with scarves to conceal his crime.

Pandey said the court awarded life sentence, with possibilities of release, to the convict under Section 302/34 of the IPC with a fine of ₹15,000.

Under Section 5g/6 of Pocso Act, the court awarded 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment with fine of ₹15,000, he added.

He further said that the court also awarded five-year rigorous imprisonment with a fine of ₹5,000 under Section 452 of the IPC, five-year rigorous imprisonment with a fine of ₹5,000 under Section 363 of the IPC, six-year rigorous imprisonment with a fine of ₹5000 under section 201 of the IPC and one-year imprisonment with a fine of ₹1,000 under Section 323 of the IPC.

According to the court order, the convict would have to pay a total fine of ₹46,000 and all sentences would run concurrently, said Pandey.

Among the six accused, four were sentenced on August 14 while the fifth juvenile (between 16 and 18 years old) was tried in the special Pocso court and sentenced on Friday. The trial of the sixth juvenile, below 16 years old, was on in the Juvenile Justice Board.

On August 14, the court had sentenced two accused to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹46,000 each while two others received six years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed fine of ₹5,000 each.

Two sisters, aged 17 and 15, belonging to a Scheduled Caste, were abducted, raped, and then strangled to death on September 14. Their bodies were found hanging from a tree in a sugarcane field, about a km away from their house. The double murder after the gangrape had shocked the district.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) set up to investigate the double murder and gangrape of two minor girls filed the charge sheet within 14 days.