Manipur: Court awards death sentence to man convicted of rape and murder of infant

A district court in Manipur on Tuesday awarded death penalty to a 21-year-old man convicted in a 2015 rape and murder case of a 4-year-old girl. The sentence is first of its kind in the Manipur since independence. The charges against David were framed on July 5, 2018, after examining 21 witnesses during the course of the hearing.

A special judge of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), A. Notuneshwari Devi, announced the verdict a day after R David was convicted under Section 6 of POCSO Act and Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). As police report goes, the four-year-old minor girl was raped and murdered at a stable in the vicinity of Maram Kavanam Village in December 2015. The convict was arrested two days later after the Mao Police Station registered a suo motu case.

According to the police report, the villagers knew about the crime, which was settled in a hushed way by compensating the parents of the victim internally. Following the registration of the case, the body of the deceased girl was exhumed and a post-mortem was conducted in the presence of a magistrate. The reports concluded sexual assault and death from strangulation.

Terming the case as rarest of the rare, the Judge said, “There is no mitigating factor to deter in other alternative punishment. In my considered view, maximum punishment should be awarded and it should be an eye opener for the society at large in order to prevent such brutal and heinous crime in our society. This court has delivered justice to the victim as well as to the society through earnest efforts made by the investigation agency, especially the then 2nd OC of Mao police station.”

The court also recommended for awarding the compensation of Rs. 25 lakhs to the victim's mother as per the National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA).