Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): The Court of Special Judge Prachi Patel awarded the death sentence to the rape accused on Friday, informed district prosecution officer Chandrashekhar Hukmalwar. The court pronounces its judgment within six months after a crime.
Hukmalwar, who led the prosecution in the court, pleaded for maximum punishment for accused Rajkumar, an employee at the nearby Dhaba who abducted a four-year-old girl on October 31, 2022, and outraged her modesty after taking her about 1.5 kilometres away from her house. The accused even tried to kill her by strangulating her, and assuming she died, he abandoned her in thick bushes to cover up the crime.
Meanwhile, timely police action led by then SP Vivek Singh in the matter, not only managed to arrest the accused within 24-hour but saved the girl as well.
Hukmalwar informed that the incident took place under the Ramnagar police outpost. As per the police complaint, the victim’s paternal aunt and uncle lodged her missing complaint with the police. In their complaint, they claimed that on October 31, 2022, they all slept together on the charpai. On November 1, 2022, they saw their niece missing from the spot. Failing to see her, they lodged her missing complaint.
Police swung into action began an investigation into the matter. Since Rajput Dhabba, where the accused Rajkumar used to work as a waiter close to the victim’s house, police questioned employees there. During questioning, Rajkumar’s fellow employees informed the police about him. Even the victim’s family members recalled that Rajkumar asked for charpai and on the day when the victim went missing, Rajkumar was not there.
Based on suspicion, the police detained Rajkumar and interrogated him. Initially, he tried to mislead the police, but later confessed his crime. He informed the police about the location, where he abandoned the child.
Police immediately rushed to the spot and recovered the girl from the bushes. Based on her medical report and the injury mark on her body, the police produced a chargesheet and other scientific evidence before the court and based on that, the court awarded him death penalty, Hukmalwar said.
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