A local court in Assam on Monday, December 21, sentenced a man to death after he was found guilty of raping and murdering of a five-year-old minor girl in 2018.
According to media reports, the incident had taken place at Dikorai tea garden area under Sootea police station in the state’s Biswanath district.
The Additional District and Sessions Court in Biswanath district in his order pronounced accused Mangal Paik, guilty under sections of 363, 376 (A), 302, 201 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for rape and murder.
The accused, Mangal Paik, reportedly a relative of the victim had visited the minor’s house for some work when he lured her to the forest area on the pretext of giving her chocolate. He then raped and brutally murdered the girl and hid the body near a pond. The family members had lodged a complaint at the police station and later police recovered the body of the victim and arrested the accused.
‘This court held the accused guilty of the charges of rape and murder under several sections of IPC and POCSO and sentenced Paik to death,’ prosecution lawyer Jahnabi Kalita told media persons outside the court after the verdict, reported Hindustan Times.
