Capital punishment to 21-year-old in 2019 minor rape-murder case

On August 5, 2019, the 12-year-old victim, who used to live with her maternal grandmother, was raped and murdered after she was kidnapped while returning home from a local fair

A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Bihar’s Araria has awarded death sentence to the 21-year-old accused in connection with the rape and murder case of a minor girl two years ago. The court has also directed the government to pay compensation to the victim’s mother.

A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Bihar’s Araria has awarded death sentence to the 21-year-old accused in connection with the rape and murder case of a minor girl two years ago. (Representative Picture) (FILE)

On August 5, 2019, the 12-year-old victim, who used to live with her maternal grandmother, was raped and murdered after she was kidnapped while returning home from a local fair. Her body was recovered on August 6 from near a village temple. Later, the Simraha police lodged an FIR on the basis of the written statement of her grandmother against unidentified persons. Police later nabbed the accused, who confessed his crime.

“Special POCSO court judge Shashikant Roy on Friday, while pronouncing the judgment in the case, awarded capital punishment to Amar Kumar, and directed the district legal services authority (DLSA) to pay ₹10 lakh to the victim’s mother from the victim compensation fund,” said public prosecutor (PP) Shyam Lal Yadav.

The court found the accused, a native of an area under Simraha police station of the district, guilty of Sections 376 (D) (B) (rape of a woman under twelve years of age), 302 (murder) and 201 (disappearance of evidence ) of the Indian Penal Code, besides Section 4 (sexual assault) of the POCSO Act.