A 23-year-old man was given a death sentence by a court in Gujarat on Wednesday for the rape and murder of a two-year-old girl in February.
Additional sessions judge Shakuntala Solanki gave the accused Yusuf Ismail capital punishment and asked the state government to pay a compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the kin of the victim.
Ismail was found guilty under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 302 (murder) and 376 (rape), and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The prosecution claimed that this was one of the "rarest of rare" cases and sought the death penalty for the accused.
Details of the incident
The victim and the accused were residents of Surat in Gujarat and the incident took place at Kapletha village near Sachin industrial area. Reportedly the accused was a friend of the victim's father.
With the pretext of taking the child to buy her some snacks, the accused on February 27 raped her and then killed her using a knife.
He then reportedly dumped the body in an open field and fled the scene. The police were able to nab him the next day.
