Image Courtesy:indianexpress.com

Three cririmals accused of paring and killing a teenager, who had reportedly said in their “confession” that they wanted to “enjoy themselves” the night they abducted the girl, have been sentenced to death on March 25. The 16-year-old was raped and murdered in 2018, the death penalty was awarded by a POCSO court in Bulandshahr. The court observed that this crime had “scared people and parents became apprehensive of sending their girls to school”, reported the Indian Express. The three men had been held guilty on March 20. 

Additional Sessions Judge Rajesh Parasher observed in his order, “The government is trying to promote ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’, and if strict punishment is not awarded to those who carry out such heinous crimes, the daughter will not be able to study nor will she be saved. Such schemes… will have no impact and serious questions will be raised on the functioning of the justice system if the courts do not listen and respond to the cry of the society.” 

The IE reported that on January 2, 2018, the accused identified as Zulfikar Abbasi, Dilshad Abbasi and Malani alias Israel were driving around when “they saw the girl cycling near NH-91, ran her off the road, and dragged the teenager into the car. The victim was on her way back home from tuition when she was abducted. According to the police, the accused, who were drunk “raped the girl multiple times in the moving vehicle, strangled her with a dupatta before dumping the body in a canal in Noida.” 

When the teenager did not return home by 8 P.M, her family started looking for her and found her bicycle and school bag on a road near their home. They filed a complaint with the Kotwali Dehat police station. Tragically, a body was recovered in Noida’s Dadri area, and was later identified by family. Based CCTVs footage from near the spot where the girl’s cycle and bag were found, the police identified the car used by the accused. According to the news report “Abbasi boys” was written on the vehicle which was soon traced using additional CCTV footage collected from a toll plaza and from shopkeepers.

A case was registered against the three under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The IE stated that all the accused, now convicted of the crime are in their twenties, and hail from Sikandrabad in Bulandshahr. It was reported that the court examined 14 prosecution witnesses during the trial, and no defence witnesses were examined. 

The victim’s family hailed the judgement and told the media that they were “indebted to Muniraj, the then SSP of Bulandshahr who really listened to us. We are very satisfied with the way the case proceeded. And in three years, there was a judgement. We would also like to thank the media for constantly supporting us along with the courts for this verdict. It is an important day for us. Girls in our country can now move freely on roads.” The victim’s Mother added that she would get “final satisfaction” only after seeing the three hang for their crime and “If the convicts appeal [the judgement], we will fight the case.” 

According to media reports the Bulandshahr SSP Santosh Kumar Singh said, “The victim’s family was given police protection to ensure… proceedings were carried out fairly. As a result of monitoring and effective prosecution, the courts have found the accused guilty.”

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