Acquittal for juvenile: Supreme Court acquits juvenile sentenced to death for rape and murder of minor | News from Dehradun

Dehradun: A 20-year-old youth from Dehradun, who was sentenced to death by the district court for raping and brutally murdering a minor girl eight years ago, has been acquitted of the charges by the Uttarakhand High Court (HC). The incident took place on January 1, 2016, when the girl went missing and her body was found hanging from a tree near Seta Curve in Tyuni, Dehradun the next day. The victim’s brother claimed that he had last seen his sister with the accused Mohd Azhar and his accomplice Nirmal, which led to their arrest on January 5. Based on the testimony of ten prosecution witnesses, DNA report, statement of the accused and other evidence presented, the district court sentenced Azhar to death by hanging on December 12, 2018 after finding him guilty under Section 302 (murder) and life imprisonment under Section 4 of the Pocso Act along with a fine. Thereafter, the accused appealed against the Supreme Court verdict. The defence counsel argued that the accused was a driver of a pickup vehicle and about a year before the alleged incident, he had met with an accident which resulted in permanent damage to his collar bone and right hand, leaving him unable to use his right hand even for day-to-day tasks. The defence also stated that the girl was a minor and there was no chain of circumstantial evidence against him. The court in its verdict said, “Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, the accused deserves acquittal from the charges under Section 4 of the Pocso Act and Section 302 of the IPC. He should be released from custody immediately unless forced to do so for another crime.”

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