In what may be a landmark judgment in the State, the court of Additional District Judge -1, L Dubey in Gumla awarded capital punishment to the rapist and murderer of a three-year-old girl of the district on Wednesday.
When the three-year-old victim was playing near her house, the convict, Bandhan Oraon (20), who lived next door took her to his place and raped her. When the girl screamed, he strangled her to death. The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Puso police station. Officer in charge of Puso PS, Rafuddin Ansari said, “Parents of the girl filed an FIR on September 24, 2018 and the chargesheet was filed on November 22, 2018. The mother said that when she went to search for the girl, Oraon told her that she is sleeping and he will send her home when she gets up.”
After half an hour, Oraon went to the victim’s mother and said that the victim is not speaking. “The mother rushed to the convict’s place to find her daughter dead and noticed blood stains on her clothes, following which she lodged the FIR.”
Within three months of the chargesheet being filed, the court gave its verdict and awarded capital punishment to the convict along with a fine or Rs 10,000.
Gumla SP, Ashwini Kumar Sinha said, “The man has been awarded the sentence based on the amendment in criminal law done in 2018, which calls for punishment up to death sentence for rape of a girl of 12 years of age or younger.”
The Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2018 called for amendment in the Indian Penal Code. Explaining the amendment, Supreme Court advocate Ravi Kant said, "Section 376 AB has been included in IPC, which says that punishment for rape of a woman of 12 years of age or below shall not be less than rigorous punishment of 20 years, which may
extend to imprisonment for life or death."
Kant informed that this also has an impact on the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. “Section 42 of POCSO Act says that an offender found guilty under selected sections of IPC, which also
includes rape, shall be liable for punishment under this Act or under IPC, whichever punishment is of a greater degree,” he said.
