POCSO court in UP sentences man to life imprisonment for rape, murder of 7-year-old girl

Ghaziabad: A special POCSO court here on Monday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in 2020.

The court set up to try cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act also imposed a fine of Rs 43,000 on the convict, special public prosecutor Harish Kumar said.

Kumar said convict Gaurav raped the girl, murdered her and dumped the body in a forest area under the Bhojpur police station limits of the district on May 19, 2020.

Elaborating on the incident, he said the victim used to live with her family in a village where Gaurav had been employed for some work.

While her parents were away, Gaurav gave the girl Rs 20 and asked her to bring chocolates, Kumar said, adding that when she was on her way to a shop, Gaurav kidnapped her and took her to a hut in the jungle.

He raped her and then smothered her to death as she started crying, the prosecutor said.

The girl's parents informed police after failing to find her and the man was arrested based on CCTV footage, following which the body was recovered as well, Kumar added.

He said the fine amount would be handed over to the parents of the minor.