KOLLAM: The Additional Sessions (POCSO) court Kollam has awarded triple life term to an accused guilty of raping and murdering a seven-year-old girl in Anchal.
Rajesh, 27, an accused in raping and murdering a 7-year-old child was slapped with three life sentences and an additional jail term of 26 years. He was also asked to pay Rs 3.2 lakh fine to the court. Kollam Additional Sessions (POCSO) court judge E Baiju has pronounced the verdict against Rajesh on Wednesday.
According to the order, the three life terms are to run separately. Even though the prosecutor had sought for the death penalty, the judge has declared that after considering the age of the defendant he is being excused from the death penalty.
The punishment was given on the charges of murder, rape, unnatural sex, kidnap, disrespect to dead body under Indian Penal Code and charges of aggravated sexual assault and penetrative sexual assault under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The incident had occurred in September 2017. Rajesh was the child's aunt's partner and was living with her family at Yeroor. The child's grandmother used to drop her to school. On the day of the crime, Rajesh met them midway and offered to drop her, following which the grandmother returned home. Instead of taking dropping her, he took her to a rubber plantation at Kulathupuzha in an auto, where he strangulated the child and then raped her. After which he abandoned her body in the plantation.
Later, when school authorities informed the family that she did not reach school, a search was launched. Rajesh was tracked down and caught by police in the forest near Kulathupuzha the next day with the help of forest officials. He confessed his crime and led the police to the spot where he had abandoned the body.
Advocate G Mohanraj was the special public prosecutor in the case. The case was probed by former Anchal SHO Inspector A Abhilash under the supervision of former Punalur deputy SP B Krishnakumar.