A local court in Surat sentenced a 27-year-old man on Wednesday to imprisonment “for the remainder of his natural life” in a case of rape and murder of a five-year-old girl in April this year.
After the court of special POCSO judge P.S. Kala pronounced the sentence, the enraged convict, Sujit Saket, hurled his slippers at the judge, claiming he was innocent. The footwear missed the Judge and fell near the witness box.
The convict is a migrant labourer and is a native of Madhya Pradesh. The prosecution said he raped and murdered the girl on April 30. The victim too was the daughter of a migrant labourer in Hazira, an industrial area near Surat.
According to the prosecution, on finding the child alone, the convict lured her with the offer of a chocolate. He took the girl to an isolated place where he raped and then strangulated her.
An FIR was lodged against the man under the relevant provisions, including the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, at Hazira police station.
The case was put on trial in a fast track court considering the gravity of the crime. During the trial, the court took into account the statements of 26 witnesses examined by the prosecution. The court also considered 53 documentary evidences produced by the prosecution before pronouncing its order.
The prosecution had urged the court to award capital punishment.