A special fast track court in Palwal has recently awarded death sentence to two men convicted of the gang rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl who was deaf and mute.
The accused were found guilty under Section 6 of the POCSO Act (Punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) and Sections 364 (kidnapping to murder), 302 (murder), and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code.
Additional Sessions Judge Prashant Rana acknowledged the extremely brutal and barbaric nature of the crime. The victim was repeatedly raped after her hands were tied, and the convicts even burned her eyes with beedis. Due to the heinousness of the crime, the court categorized it as “rarest of rare,” justifying the imposition of the death penalty.
“In view of the brutal nature of the crime, the present case belongs to the category of, rarest of rare. Death sentence is the only befitting punishment for the convicts,” the Court stated.
The convicts, aged approximately 22 and 27 years, were neighbors of the victim. One of them had given her ₹20 to buy guavas, but on her way, she was abducted by the two men and taken to a dense field where she was gang rape and eventually killed. She succumbed on the spot after being strangled and smothered. The next day, her body was discovered with maggots crawling all over her face.
The court observed that the convicts meticulously planned and executed the barbaric acts of gang rape and murder with utmost secrecy. It also considered the severe injuries inflicted on the victim, including a neck fracture and complete damage to her genitals.
The victim’s family, living below the poverty line (BPL), faced numerous challenges. Her father, a laborer, had 86 percent disability due to post-polio paralysis, while her mother was also deaf and mute with a locomotive disability in one leg and intellectual disabilities. Additionally, her siblings, aged 11 and 6, were also deaf and mute.
The judge firmly believed that anything less than the death penalty would be unjustified given the circumstances of the case. There was no reason to believe that the convicts would be reformed or would not pose a threat to society.
“They do not deserve any mercy. The Courts of Law hereby warn potential offenders, who may plan to perpetrate such like offences in the future, that in case they commit such an offence with children of the society, they would be signing their own death warrants and the court would simply execute those warrants,” the Court further remarked.
The ASG Rana further took note of the silent cries of the victim during the commission of the crime and the subsequent protests by organizations such as the Deaf & Dumb Welfare Association of Palwal and concerned NGOs. It stated that although human ears may not have heard these cries, the cosmic intelligence always listens and ensures complete justice when the time comes.
Consequently, the court sentenced the two convicts to death and awarded a compensation of ₹30 lakh to the legal heirs of the victim.
The death sentence will be subject to confirmation by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
