Labourer gets life term for girl’s murder

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, September 12

A local today awarded life imprisonment to a man for brutally murdering a four-year-old girl.

While pronouncing the quantum of punishment, the court observed: “No doubt, killing a girl child of 4 years is a heinous and brutal crime but at the same time, it will be difficult to hold that it is a rarest of rare case because it is difficult to hold that the convict is a menace to society and there is no reason to believe that he cannot be reformed or rehabilitated and that he is likely to continue criminal acts of violence as would constitute a continuing threat to society. Hence, extreme penalty of death sentence is not required to be awarded to the convict in the present case.”

Seeking leniency, Kamlesh pleaded that he was a poor person. No criminal case was pending against him. “I have two minor children, who go to school. My wife is illiterate and all of them are dependent upon me. There is no one to look after and support my family. I am not in a fit state of mind and was under treatment prior to this case,” he stated.

However, the prosecution opposed the request by contending that convict Kamlesh without any reason intentionally committed murder of a four-year-old girl child and the ghastly crime committed by him does not in any manner make him entitled to any sort of leniency.

After hearing the arguments, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge sentenced Kamlesh to undergo imprisonment for life which will continue till the end of his natural life and pay a fine of Rs 25,000 for the commission of offence punishable under Section 302 of the IPC.

According to the prosecution, Kamlesh, a resident of Sanjay Labour Colony, Industrial Area, Phase I, Chandigarh, was arrested for allegedly murdering the four-year-old daughter of his neighbour on February 25, 2018.

In his complaint to the police, Manu Singh, father of the victim, stated that he was a labourer by profession. Kamlesh, a labourer, who was residing near his house in Sanjay Labour Colony, used to issue threats to him and would enter into argument with him on minor issues.

Around 12.15 pm on February 25, 2018, he was at home due to a public holiday. His wife Babita and mother Asha Devi were also present there. His daughter Ujala was playing outside the house. All of a sudden, they heard some noise. When they stepped out of the jhuggi, they saw Kamlesh holding his daughter Ujala from her collar. In one hand, he was holding a sickle with which he was slashing her throat. He shouted and yelled at him to leave his daughter but Kamlesh was bent upon to kill her. With much effort, he got his daughter freed from the clutches of Kamlesh. Blood was oozing out of her throat and cut wound was also there on her neck. She was taken to the GMCH, Sector 32, where she was declared dead.