Fisherman sentenced to death for rape and murder of eight-year-old | Ahmedabad News

The court also sentenced the accused to life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 25,000. The victim’s family was awarded compensation of Rs 1.7 million.

According to the prosecution, on June 12, 2022, the eight-year-old girl was on her way to a grocery store when the accused stopped her and gave her money to buy a bidi packet and a matchbox for him.

Later, the girl went to his house with the items, where the accused dragged her inside and abused her. He suffocated her, packed her body in a sack and then dumped it near the village crematorium.

The police had tracked down the accused using the bidi packet and the matchbox. According to the prosecution, the man lived alone after his wife and daughter had left him because of his alleged drinking addiction. The police had filed charges within 25 days and attached the statements of six key witnesses.

“We told the court that such cruelty on a minor had never been committed in Kodinar and that this was an extremely rare case which justified sending the convict to the gallows. The court agreed and awarded the death penalty to the convict,” Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) Ketansinh Vala told The Indian Express.

Vala said eyewitnesses supported the prosecution’s case. “A minor classmate of the victim was the last person to see her and the accused together. This witness and another minor witness testified in favor of the prosecution,” the APP said.

Gir Somnath, Superintendent of Police Manoharsinh Jadeja, said that a special investigation team (SIT) has been formed to investigate the case.

“We have carefully collected scientific evidence, including extracting the accused’s DNA from the victims’ nails,” Jadeja said.

Meanwhile, the state government said the verdict in the case sent “a clear message to all those with criminal tendencies”. On the instructions of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi had ordered “to conduct sensitive and thorough investigations and to collect relevant scientific and circumstantial evidence that would lead to conviction and death sentence”.

An official press release states: “A depraved man has been sentenced to death for raping and murdering an innocent eight-year-old girl on June 12, 2022. With this strict action, the state government has sent a clear warning signal to elements with criminal mindsets.”