On Wednesday, July 26, a special POCSO Court in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, awarded a death sentence to a 35-year-old man named Mohammed Faheem for raping and killing a four-year-old girl child. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.2 lakh on the accused which would be paid to the victim’s family. According to reports, the incident happened in April this year in the Jahagirabad area of Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.
Calling a “rarest of rare” case, Dhruv Rai, special judge (POCSO) said, “Such a crime is not only a violation of law, human and social relations but also destroys the social structure. The person committing such a crime deserves maximum punishment.”
After the court pronounced the verdict, the additional district government counsel Bharat Sharma said, “Dhruv Rai, special judge (POCSO), has ordered that the accused be hanged till death under IPC section 302 and section 6 of POCSO Act with a fine of Rs 1 lakh; seven-year imprisonment under section IPC 201 with Rs 20,000 penalty.”
The perpetrator, according to SSP Bulandshahr Shlok Kumar, lured the little girl to his home as she was playing outside, raped her, and strangled her to death.
“The girl’s family reported her to the police after she vanished while playing inside the house. When the police arrived, the neighbours told them that they had seen the girl with Faheem, who lived nearby. The girl’s body was found in Faheem’s home later that evening. He had hidden the body, which was covered in many bite marks, under a bed, the SSP continued.
The SSP added that the accused was arrested the same night he committed the heinous crime. The autopsy report of the little girl confirmed that she was raped and murdered. The accused has been lodged in jail since his arrest in April.
