After four-day trial, man gets death for rape and murder

A local court in Bihar’s Katihar district has awarded death sentence to a 35-year-old man Sanjay Rishi for raping and murdering his four-year-old niece.

The judgment assumes significance as the police filed a charge-sheet in the case within 24 hours of the incident and the court verdict was pronounced after four days of speedy trial.

Delivering the judgment,  District and Sessions judge BN Pandey observed that the heinous crime fell in the “rarest of rare”category, and therefore the accused should be awarded death sentence. The court also awarded life imprisonment to the accused under Section 376 of the IPC and slapped a fine of Rs 25,000. All the sentences would run concurrently.

According to the police, Rishi took the four-year-old girl, who was playing, to a maize field and raped her. When the girl started crying loudly, he killed her on the spot.

The family of the girl on January 25 lodged an FIR after she did not return home. “On suspicion, the police took the victim’s uncle into custody as some villagers had seen the girl going along with Rishi towards the field. After sustained interrogation, the accused confessed the crime,” said Katihar SP, Kim.

The police booked Rishi under Sections 376 and 302 of the IPC and filed charge-sheet in the court within 24 hours of the incident.

The trial began on January 28, three days after FIR was lodged. Altogether 15 witnesses appeared in the court and recorded their statements. After hearing witnesses for four working days, the court, in one of the swiftest trial, pronounced its verdict on February 2.