In one of the fastest trials in the country, a 40-year-old man who was arrested for raping a 9-year-old girl, has been convicted and awarded the death penalty within 46 days of committing the crime. According to reports, Bhaggi alias Bhagirath Patel has been sentenced to death by the Additional District Judge in Sagar, Madhya Pradesh.
Sagar: A man who had raped a minor girl in Rehli on May 21 was sentenced to death today, on July 7. The trial and medical tests were completed during this duration and the verdict was pronounced today, all within the span of 46 days. #MadhyaPradesh pic.twitter.com/SZnxkwQtbq
— ANI (@ANI) July 7, 2018
Bhagirath alias Narayan Patel was reportedly arrested on May 22 for raping a 9-year-old girl at a temple in Raheli, Sagar district. Patel was arrested by the Sagar police the very next day and was booked under section 376, 366 and sections 3, 4 and 5 of the POCSO Act. Acting with remarkable speed, the Madhya Pradesh Police had filed the charge sheet in the case within 72 hours of arrest. Additional District Judge Sudhanshu Saxena passed the verdict yesterday.
Sagar police, in a statement, has declared that this is the first case where death penalty awarded after the Madhya Pradesh government announced the death penalty for child rapists in the state.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has also shared the news and stated that he welcomes the court’s order and he has always believed that monsters who sexually abuse children have no place in a civil society. The CM has expressed his gratitude to the state police for taking the case to a conclusion and ensure a speedy trial.
The BJP government in Madhya Pradesh had passed the law to sentence rapists of children below 12 years of age to death in January. Later even the central government had amended the POCSO Act and IPC through an ordinance in April to include the death penalty for child rapists and ensured maximum imprisonment for child sexual abusers.
