Gujarat court awards life sentence to man in rape-murder case; convict hurls footwear at judge

Surat, December 29

A Surat court on Wednesday sentenced a 27-year-old man to life imprisonment “for the remainder of his natural life” in a case of rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in April this year.

After the court of special POCSO judge P S Kala pronounced the sentence, the convict, Sujit Saket, got enraged and hurled his slippers towards the judge. But, the footwear missed the target and fell near the witness box.

According to the prosecution, the convict, a native of Madhya Pradesh, raped and murdered the girl on April 30.

The victim was the daughter of a migrant labourer.

On finding the child alone, the convict kidnapped her under the pretext of getting her a chocolate.

He took the girl to an isolated place where he raped her and then strangulated her to death, as per the prosecution.

An FIR was lodged against the man under relevant provisions, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, at Hazira police station here.

The court took into account statements of 26 witnesses examined by the prosecution.

 The court also considered 53 documentary evidences before pronouncing the order. PTI