Man sentenced to death in Uttarakhand for rape, murder of two minor sisters

A 55-year-old man was handed capital punishment for raping and murdering two minor sisters more than a year ago in Rishikesh town in Uttarakhand’s Dehradun district.

Justice Rama Pandey of the Dehradun Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court found Parwan Singh guilty on August 20 and ordered on Thursday that he be hanged till death. This is the first capital punishment pronounced by the Dehradun POCSO.

Parwan Singh, attached with a gurudwara as a sevadar, was arrested on the charges of raping and murdering the sisters — one was 13-year-old and the other three-year-old — on June 15 last year in Shyampur area of Rishikesh town.

He had committed the crime when the two sisters where alone in their house — their mother and brother had gone out, and father was lodged in jail for some crime.

Hailing the judgment, station house officer, Rishikesh police, Praveen Koshiyari said, “Police during the investigation of the case had gathered crucial evidence against Singh, which helped them get him convicted.”

Koshiyari said the crime was committed around 8.30am on June 15 last year when the sisters were alone. “They were first found lying unconscious in the house by their 9-year-old brother and an aunt. Later in the hospital, the two were declared dead by doctors. The police were informed about the incident around 12.30pm.”

As Singh was living in the gurudwara located close to the victim’s house, police questioned him. “During interrogation, police found a deep bite mark on his hand, and later his facial hair from the hands of the 13-year-old girl, which matched during the DNA test,” the SHO said.

“These two proved to be the most crucial evidence against him before the court apart from his confession after the arrest that he (Singh) had committed the crime. The rape of the younger sister was proved in medical examinations.”

First Published: Aug 25, 2018 02:00 IST