Convict Amrish Kumar in Panchkula court on Tuesday. Express
A 23-year-old man, arrested for raping and murdering a minor girl in April 2016, was held guilty and sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment on Tuesday. He has also slapped a fine of Rs 20,000. The convict, Amrish Kumar, had been lodged at the Ambala Central Jail since his arrest on April 25, 2016. He was present in the courtroom when the sentence was pronounced by the court of Additional Sessions Judge Neerja Kulwant Kalson.
The defense counsel of Amrish, a native of Hardoi district in UP, had demanded leniency from the court, which rejected the plea. Two relatives of the victim too were present in the court complex but they refused to interact with mediapersons.
According to the prosecution, Amrish was residing in a rented accommodation at Ralla village and he had abducted the 11-year-old minor girl, who was playing near her house, raped her and smashed her head with a brick before fleeing on April 24, 2016. He was arrested the next day by a team headed by Inspector Lalit Kumar, the then SHO of Sector 5 police station, and S-I Balwant Singh. A charge sheet against Amrish was filed in the trial court on June 26, 2016.
The probe officer, Inspector Lalit Kumar, said, “All the relevant evidence, including the tower location of accused, which established his presence in the vicinity of Rolla village when rape and murder happened, was submitted in the trial court. His presence in the area was also established by two independent witnesses.”
District Attorney Narinder Bhoria, who represented the prosecution during the trial, said, “The court awarded strict imprisonment to the accused. A detailed copy of judgment will arrive in a few days.”
Amrish had committed the crime in the room of his neighbour, Rajpal Yadav, who was not in his room. Mother of the victim, who was a domestic maid, had noticed the body of her daughter in a pool of blood in the room of Rajpal. Amrish was a laborer, who used to work on daily wage. Amrish managed to escape and was arrested from Chandigarh Railway Station on the basis of his mobile tower location when he was planning to flee to his native village in Hardoi district in UP on August 25, 2016. A case against him was registered at the Sector 5 police station.