MANGALURU: Three migrant workers have been sentenced to death for gangraping and murdering an eight-year-old girl from Jharkhand here on November 21, 2021. They have been identified as Jayban Adivasi, 21, and Mukhesh Singh, 20, from Madhya Pradesh, and Manish Tirki, 33, from Ranchi in Jharkhand.
Fourth accused Muneem Singh from Madhya Pradesh is still absconding. All four were working in a tile factory at Tiruvailu village in Mangaluru rural police limits. The girl’s parents were also working in the factory.
Special public prosecutor K Badrinath Nayari told reporters here on Friday that on November 21, 2021, the accused took the girl, who was playing with her brother, to a remote area after giving her sweets and raped her. They also had unnatural sex and strangled her to death. “This is the first case where a POCSO Court in Mangaluru has awarded death penalty to the accused,” Badrinath said.
Based on a complaint by the girl’s mother, the accused were booked under Sections 120(b), 366(a), 376 DB, 377, 302, and under Section 6 of the POCSO Act. As many as 30 witnesses were examined.
Judge Manu KS of the Additional District and Sessions Court, FTSC - 2 POCSO Special Court, sentenced them on Thursday. The judge also ordered them to pay a fine of Rs 1,20,000 to be paid to the victim’s parents. The victim’s kin is also entitled to receive a compensation of Rs 3,80,000 from the district legal services authority.