The accused was charged under relevant sections of the IPC, POCSO Act (Representational)
A court in Odisha's Keonjhar district on Thursday sentenced a man to death for rape and murder of a three-year-old girl.
Additional District Court and Special Court Judge Lokanath Sahu pronounced capital punishment to 20-year-old Sunil Kumar Naik after convicting him of rape and murder of a minor girl on January 13, 2017.
The accused was charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The court awarded death penalty to the convict after taking into account statements of 28 witnesses.
The medical examination report mentioned that the girl died due to shock and haemorrhage by forceful penetration, public prosecutor said.
Police said that the convict, who was from Sasang village in the Champua police station area, was a relative of the girl and therefore visited her house frequently. On January 13, 2017, he took the girl to a secluded place and raped her. Later, he throttled and killed her to hide his crime.
After his conviction, Sunil Naik claimed he was innocent and said he would move the higher court to review the judgement. This was the fifth incident of death penalty being awarded by a court in Odisha in the last six months for raping a minor girl.