Nagpur court sentences man to death under provisions of IPC, POCSO Act for raping, killing 5-year-old girl

Nagpur, June 3

A man was sentenced to death on Monday by a Nagpur court for raping and murdering a 5-year-old girl in 2019.

Sanjay Puri (32) was sentenced to death by District Judge and Additional Sessions Judge SR Padwal under Sections 302 and 376(A)(B) of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, said Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Prashant Kumar Sathianathan.

The body of the girl, with severe head injuries, was found on December 6, 2019 from a farm plot in Linga village in Kalmeshwar tehsil where she resided with her labourer parents. A piece of cloth and rod were stuffed into her mouth, while a blood-stained boulder lay nearby.

The police probe revealed she was raped and bludgeoned to death, after which Puri, who worked on the farm as a watchman, was arrested, the SPP said.

A total of 26 witnesses were examined in the case, he said.

The court sentenced Puri to life imprisonment under Section 376(2) of the IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act, as well as seven years in jail under Section 10 of the POCSO Act, Sathianathan said.

All the sentences will run concurrently, the SPP informed.