Mahim resident gets life term for rape, murder of 5-year-old

Mahim resident sentenced to life for kidnapping, raping, and murdering a 5-year-old girl. Court cites strong evidence including CCTV footage.

MUMBAI: A special POCSO (Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court on Wednesday sentenced a Mahim resident to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life for kidnapping, raping and murdering a 5-year-old girl sleeping on a footpath in 2019. Special judge RK Kshirsagar also imposed a fine of ₹50,000 on the convict.

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“The whole evidence of the prosecution inspired confidence in the mind of court and can be accepted by test of prudence. Though the last seen theory cannot form basis of conviction, the same is coupled with other factors such as when the victim was last seen with the accused and proximity to the time to the recovery of body of victim,” the court said while convicting the accused.

“The accused was bound to give an explanation but failed to do so, closing out the possibility of other hypotheses,” the court said, adding that the prosecution had proved the victim’s death was homicidal.

According to the complaint filed by the father of the victim, the family comprising the parents and three children lived on the footpath along LJ Road in Mahim, while their eldest daughter lived in Bandra.

In his testimony recorded by the trial court, he said his five-year-old daughter went to sleep with other family members as usual at around 8pm on February 6, 2019. “Around 5am, I woke up to drink water but could not find her anywhere despite searching for her everywhere,” said the daily wage labourer.

The family subsequently lodged a complaint with the Mahim police station.

“On February 7, 2019, the police told me that my daughter was found in an unconscious state and was taken to Sion Hospital. When we saw her, she was dead. She had sustained an injury near the eye. There were marks around her neck. She was sexually assaulted and then murdered,” the father told the court.

The doctor who had examined the victim in 2019 testified in court that the girl had sustained multiple external and internal injuries, suggesting signs of death due to asphyxia.

Another witness who lived in the vicinity of the family testified that the accused had befriended her and other neighbours after the incident, and he would enquire with them about the progress of the police probe pretending he was innocent. “It was only when we saw CCTV footage of the showroom across the street (close to the location from which she was kidnapped) that we realised that he had committed the brutal act,” she told the court.

Special public prosecutor VD More and special public prosecutor Sureeta Singh submitted that the case was based on circumstantial evidence. They pointed out that a witness from the vicinity had seen the accused kidnapping the girl and was continuously scouting the area with the police search team.

After listening to the arguments at length, the special judge noted that the CCTV footage was a strong piece of evidence which indicated the presence of accused close to the location at the time of kidnapping.

“The production of CCTV footage has become more relevant to establish the guilt of the accused on the basis of last seen theory. It has strengthened the case of the prosecution, proving the guilt of the accused,” the judge noted.

The accused was convicted for committing offences punishable under sections 363 (kidnapping), 376(A) (rape) and 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code, and sections 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.