CUTTACK: The Special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court here on Wednesday convicted the accused in Salepur minor girl rape and murder case. The court will pronounce the sentence on Thursday. The accused Md Mustaq (28) was arrested within 24 hours of the incident and charge-sheet filed in 19 days.
Additional Sessions Judge Bandana Kar charged Md Mustaq guilty under Sections 376 a-b (rape on minor girl below 12 years), 302 (murder), 363 (kidnapping) of IPC and POCSO Act, Special Public Prosecutor Akshaya Nayak said.On April 21, 2018, Mustaq had lured the six-year-old girl with chocolate to the village school after sunset where he raped her.
After a search, her parents and villagers found the girl in an unconscious state on the school verandah with injuries on her head, face, neck, chest and private parts besides marks of strangulation on her neck. She was taken to SCB Medical College Hospital the same day where she died after battling with life for nearly eight days. The case was converted into rape and murder and charge sheet was filed in the Special Court for trial on May 11, 2018.
Her death came at a time when there was political upheaval over alleged Kunduli rape and suicide case involving a 14-year-old girl. The Opposition Congress and BJP had also created a ruckus in the Assembly over increasing incidents of rape of minor girls in the State for a week.