During the investigation, the main accused and his mother had confessed to the crime, police said.
The Sessions Court in Pune on Friday sentenced a 24-year-old man to death for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in Maval Taluka of Pune district.
In August 2022, the girl, aged six years, was playing in the courtyard of her house when the accused, a resident of Kamshet in Maval Taluka, kidnapped her, raped her, and slit her throat. The girl's body was found the next day in the accused's backyard.
The mother of the accused was also sentenced to 7 years imprisonment for hiding evidence and not reporting the incident to the police.
During the investigation, both the accused had confessed to the crime but later pleaded not guilty after a chargesheet was filed in the court by the police.
According to Public Prosecutor Senior Advocate Rajesh Kavediya, during the trial, the prosecution submitted that "on the basis of all evidence brought on record, the prosecution has proved beyond reasonable doubt that the accused kidnapped the deceased girl while she was playing in the courtyard, took her to his home, committed aggravated sexual assault on the deceased, and murdered her brutally by cutting her throat.
"The accused thereafter attempted to hide the dead body by burying it in a pit below a tree behind his house. His mother had hidden the clothes and articles on the person of the deceased to protect her son from punishment, and so both accused should be convicted," Mr Kavediya added.
He further submitted that, "The accused is a sex maniac, obsessed with uncontrolled, relentless sexual thoughts and addicted to viewing child pornography."
Mr Kavediya expressed his gratitude towards the court for conducting a speedy trial.
The case came to trial around October 2022, and 29 witnesses were examined in just 8 months after the chargesheet was filed.
Reacting to the court order, Defense Lawyer Advocate Yashpal Purohit said, "I welcome the judgment given by the honorable court, but the defense will be moving to a higher court to seek the legal remedies available to the accused."
The Sessions Court, in its order, stated that, "The present crime seems to be one of the most heinous, brutal, and barbaric acts by a sexually obsessed and hardened cruel person."
The trial was conducted by Additional Sessions Court Judge BP Kshirsagar of Pune Sessions Court.
The incident occurred in August 2022. The case was registered at Kamshet Police Station under Pune Rural Police, and the conviction came in approximately one year and seven months.
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