Man gets death penalty for rape, murder of 8-yr-old girl in Chandigarh

The Fast-Track Special Court here today awarded death sentence to 41-year-old Heera Lal Guddu for the rape and murder of an eight-year-old girl in Hallomajra last year. The court said he would be hanged by neck till death. This is the first capital punishment awarded by the court since its inception here in 2020.

The convict is a menace to society and shall continue to be so. He cannot be reformed. Hence, this case falls in the “rarest of rare” category, said the court.

The police registered a missing person case on January 19 last year on a complaint filed by the victim’s mother. She told the police that her daughter aged about 8 years and 11 months had gone to a shop around 11 am but did not return home.

On January 21, the child’s body, with the throat slit and multiple stab wounds, was found hidden in a heap of garbage. In the CCTV footage of the area, the accused was spotted carrying a handbag. The police arrested him from Ara district in Bihar on January 25.

The police said the accused had shifted to Chandigarh from his native place in Uttar Pradesh, and was living in the victim’s neighbourhood in Hallomajra.

Finding a prima facie case, the court framed the charges against the accused under Sections 201, 302, 363, 366, 376, 376(3), 376 AB, and 511 of the IPC, and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.

He appealed for leniency saying that he is a poor person and has to look after his parents, who are aged and suffering from various ailments. He has two children and his family is totally dependent on him.

However, the special public prosecutor said the minor girl was brutally raped and murdered by the convict. Given the brutal nature of the crime, it was the rarest of rare case. Hence, death sentence is the only befitting punishment for the convict, he added.

Dr Yashika, Additional Sessions Judge, convicted the accused under Section 302 of the IPC and 6 of the POCSO Act, and awarded him death penalty.

The court said the blood and semen samples taken from the clothes of the deceased as well as the body conclusively connect the convict with the rape and murder. The convict never showed any guilt or remorse for perpetrating the crime. The victim suffered nine major injuries. The motive for which the girl was murdered reflects depravity and meanness.

The convict had stooped so low as to unleash his monstrous self on the innocent, helpless and defenceless child. This court is of the opinion that the convict is a menace to society and cannot be reformed. Hence, it’s the “rarest of rare” case, said the Judge.

The legal heirs of the victim deserve to be granted maximum compensation, as per The Victim Compensation Scheme, 2018. The court has also convicted the accused under Sections 366, 363 and 201 of IPC and sentenced him to undergo seven years of rigorous imprisonment for each offence. All these sentences shall run concurrently. The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 50, 000 on the convict.

This is the first case in which the Fast-Track Court of Chandigarh has awarded death sentence since its inception in August 2020.