Man sentenced to death for raping, minor girl in Pune

A special POCSO court in Maharashtra sentenced a man to death for raping and killing a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in 2021.

The accused, Sanjay Katkar (38), was charged under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual offences act and the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

In the order, Principal District Judge (special judge for POCSO cases) Sanjay Deshmukh wrote, "The accused, Sanjay Baban Katkar, is held guilty for the offences punishable under Sections 363 of Indian Penal Code and under Section 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. 235(2) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 and he is sentenced to death for the offence punishable under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 and he shall be hanged to death as contemplated under Section 354(5) of the Code of Criminal Procedure subject to confirmation of the Hon'ble High Court, Bombay, under Section 366 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.

Katkar is further sentenced to suffer rigorous imprisonment for five years for the offence punishable under Section 363 of the IPC.

He was further imprisonment for 20 years for the offence punishable under Section 4 sentenced to suffer of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012."

Special public prosecutor Vilas Pathare said, "The minor girl was kidnapped, sexually assaulted and strangled to death by the accused in Panshet area of Pune district on February, 15 2021. The whole case was based on circumstantial evidence and witness during the trial a total of 17 witnesses were examined and detailed medical examination helped to reach the conviction.

Expressing his feeling about the judgement Special PP also added that, "It's a welcome and a good judgement on the point of social impact, in such cases normally court gives capital punishment as life imprisonment till natural death, the basic purpose of such punishment is to create terror in the society that one should not dare to commit such crimes."

( With inputs from ANI )