19-year-old gets death sentence for raping infant under POCSO Act

In a historic decision by SC/ST court in Alwar Jaipur, a 19-year-old man named Pintu was convicted of raping a seven-month-old infant two months back, has been sentenced to death. Following an amendment to the POCSO Act, it is the first death penalty to be given in Rajasthan.

Judge Jagendra Agarwal on Wednesday gave the verdict following the medical report of the child, eyewitness account, and circumstantial evidence.

19-year-old boy awarded death sentence by a Court in Alwar earlier today, for raping a 7-month-old girl. #Rajasthan pic.twitter.com/SPXUaomRTQ

— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018

On May 9, the accused took the baby from her house when she was with her partially-blind grandmother, he was caught by some people when he was raping the girl in a nearby school building and handed him over to the police.

‘The decision in the case came after 30 days of continuous hearings. He said 21 pieces of evidence were presented during the hearing against the accused.’ Special public prosecutor Kuldeep Jain was quoted saying by the Hindustan Times.

Jain said ‘this is a first death sentence to be awarded in Rajasthan after the implementation of amended POCSO Act.’

“The decision had come in record time and will set a precedent. It will bring relief to mothers of girls who worry about the safety of their daughters.” State women’s commission chairperson Suma Sharma.

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Deepak Kalra, former chairperson of the Rajasthan State Commission for Protection of Child Rights (RSCPCR),“I hope other pending cases will also be resolved soon, as this judgment will become a guide for other such cases.”

Welcoming the decision of the court, Nisha Sidhu, chief general secretary of the National Federation of Indian Women  added that death penalty is not a solution. She insisted that the criminal should be made to repent for the heinous act and suggested that the accused in such cases should be given rigorous imprisonment for life without parole and suffer for their crime.