GHAZIABAD: A 30-year-old man and his 70-year-old mother were on Monday handed the life term by a district court in connection with the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl in 2015. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.6 lakh on the mother-son duo and said 75% of the amount would be given to the girl’s father.
Special judge (Pocso Court II) Ravindra Prasad Gupta found the main accused, Deepak Kumar, guilty under IPC sections 302 (murder), 364 (kidnapping) and 201 (destruction of evidence) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. His mother, Naresh, was convicted for kidnapping, murder and destruction of evidence.
Ranveer Singh Dagar, a former special public prosecutor (Pocso Act) who was arguing the case initially, said the girl had gone to the weekly market in Bhojpur to get her slippers repaired on May 4, 2015. When she did not return home till late that evening, her relatives started looking for her but failed to find her anywhere. Around 4am the next morning, the girl’s body was found in a sack near Deepak’s house.
Police searched the house and found bloodstains on the walls. A knife with blood on it was also recovered from Deepak. An FIR for rape and murder was registered against the mother-son duo at Bhojpur police station the next day.
Sanjeev Bakharva, the current special public prosecutor (Pocso Act), said, “During questioning, Deepak admitted to have raped the girl and murdered her with the help of his mother. They had set the girl’s clothes on fire in order to eliminate evidence.”
During the course of the hearing, the statements of eight witnesses were recorded. Judge Gupta pronounced the verdict based on the evidence. Since their arrest, Deepak and his mother were lodged in Dasna jail. The court said the time spent in jail would be adjusted with the life term.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)