Gujarat man gets double death sentence for rape and murder of 7-year-old girl   

A court in Anand district of Gujarat on Friday awarded a `double death sentence' to a man for the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Khambhat tehsil in 2019.

Arjun Gohel (29) was convicted under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and section 6 (aggravated sexual attack) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) by Khambhat sessions court judge Parveen Kumar.

The court termed the case as rarest of the rare and awarded "double death penalty" to the accused as sought by the prosecution, said public prosecutor Raghuvir Pandya.

"The court also awarded a compensation of Rs 13 lakh to the victim's family. A double death sentence ensures that if he gets acquitted in one offence in a higher court, he will still face capital punishment," said advocate Pandya.

The case dates back to October 2019 when locals found the semi-naked body of the seven-year-old girl in a field on the outskirts of a village.

A medical report confirmed that she had been raped before being strangulated.

Gohel was arrested as some witnesses including a girl stated they had seen the accused with the victim before she went missing, said Pandya.

"Investigation revealed that Gohel, a resident of the same village, lured the girl away by promising to buy her biscuits when she was playing outside her house with other girls," the prosecutor said.

He then took her to the outskirts of the village and raped her brutally, causing her serious internal injuries. Then he strangled her.

Though he never confessed to his crime and maintained that he left the girl unharmed after buying her biscuits, the prosecution proved beyond doubt that he had committed the crime, said Pandya.