Guwahati, Sep 15 A man was sentenced to death in Assam's Dhubri district for raping and killing a four-year-old girl in 2023, with a POCSO court terming the crime "rarest of rare".
Bilasipara Additional and District Court Special Judge Rana Dutta on Monday handed down additional statutory sentences and imposed fines under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to the convict Utpal Ray, said a prosecutor in the case.
Recognising that the crime falls under the "rarest of rare" category, the judge sentenced Ray to capital punishment for murder. He was also directed to pay a fine of Rs 10,000, failing which he had to undergo six months of simple imprisonment.
The judge sentenced the accused to life imprisonment for rape, which means imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life. He was also fined Rs 10,000, and six months of simple imprisonment in case of default in payment.
The convict also got five years of rigorous imprisonment and was fined Rs 4,000 for causing the disappearance of evidence and giving false information to screen an offender. The court sentenced the convict to 20 years of imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 for aggravated penetrative sexual assault against a child.
The judge ruled that all sentences will run concurrently.
The incident occurred on September 4, 2023. The child had gone missing from her residence inside a tea garden premises, and her body was found by police a few days later. Police found that the accused had lured the child into a secluded area, raped and then killed her.
Ray was later arrested, and the police filed the chargesheet in March 2024.
