19-year-old sentenced to death for raping minor in Alwar

A 19-year-old has been sentenced to death in Rajasthan's Alwar for raping a seven-month-old girl. The sentence was passed by the Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe court on Saturday.

Special Judge Jagendra Kumar Agarwal passed the judgement. The culprit was registered under Section 363, 366, 376 AB 5M / 6 of POSCO (Protection of Children against Sexual Offences) Act.

The culprit from Harsana village of Laxmangarh area of Alwar abducted the girl and raped her.

The case was fast-tracked by the judge and was heard on a daily basis for 12 hearings in 22 working days of the court after the case being registered on may 10.

Hemant Priyadarshi, Inspector General, Jaipur said that he is satisfied with the verdict.

"I'm professionally satisfied with the verdict. Taking everything into account the entire team as a system has been able to deliver as per expectation and spirit of the amended law," Priyadarshi told ANI.

Special public prosecutor Kuldeep Jain said that this will be the first case in Rajasthan when the court will pronounce the verdict in less time after the amendment in the POSCO Act.

"There is a provision for the sentence of execution in this case also. This is Rajasthan's first and third case of India. In two such cases in Madhya Pradesh the accused have also been hanged," said Jain.

The child's father registered a complaint against the culprit stating that he came to the house on the evening of May 9 and taking advantage of the mother's blindness took the sleeping baby.

The girl was later found blood-soaked in a football field. Following which, the police arrested the accused after the investigation.

There were a total of 21 witnesses and three doctors who testified in the court. Witnesses included people who saw the man taking the child and some of them even saw him committing the crime.

DNA and Forensic Sciences reports also confirmed the rape.

In April, the Union Cabinet, at a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved an ordinance allowing courts to pronounce the death penalty for those convicted of raping children below the age of 12.

Earlier in the month, a man, accused of raping a nine-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh's Rehli, was sentenced to death within 46 days of the incident.