Rape and murder accused convicted
Source: The Sangai Express
Imphal, July 30 2018:
A Noutuneshwari, Special Judge POCSO Senapati, convicted one R David (24) for the rape and murder of a minor girl in 2015 and fixed tomorrow for the sentence hearing.
The judgment was announced in an open Court after the final hearing of the case was held on July 27 .
The case was set in motion on the basis of a complaint received by then 2nd OC of Mao PS, Timothy Ronamai that on December 25 at about 6.30 pm to 7 pm R David s/o Ngounirang alias Charang of Maram Kavanam village had raped and murdered a minor girl (aged around 4 years) and it was also learned that the deceased girl was buried by the villagers following Maram customary law.
During the course of investigation, the convict was arrested on December 27 from Maram Kavanam village bazar and during interrogation, the convict admitted to the crime.
The convict was lodged in judicial custody from December 31, 2015 and during the investigation, the body was exhumed on December 28 and a post mortem was conducted.
The doctor in the post mortem report opined that the cause of death was due to asphyxia haemorrhage from manual strangulation.
The post mortem report also suggested that the victim was raped and murdered.
After the completion of the investigation, a charge sheet was submitted by the IO and charge was framed on June 5 this year.
During the trial, 21 prosecution witnesses were examined.
The Court also heard the submission of Special PP and the defense counsel at length during the argument hearing of the case.
During the hearing, the Special PP contended that the victim girl was only 4 years and three months old when she was raped and murdered.
The Special PP submitted that the incident occurred at a cattle shed below the house of the one of the prosecution witnesses on December 25, between 6.30 pm and 7 pm when the convict (who is a relative of the victim) took her out on the pretext of buying her eatable items from the nearby shops as it was Christmas day.
It was submitted that the elder brother of the victim also saw the convict whispering into the victim's ears.
When the victim did not return home, her mother began searching and enquiring about her and other relatives soon joined the search.
They eventually met the convict David in front of a hotel and when asked by the victim's mother, he replied that he had sent the girl home sometime back.
It was stated that the convict then went inside the cowshed and called out the name of victim three/four times but there was no response and the convict came out holding the minor in his arms and told the victim's mother to take the victim.
The Special PP contended that when the minor victim went out from her home, she was wearing a skirt, slacks and sandals but when the convict handed her over, she was not wearing the skirt, slacks and sandal but only socks and at that time the victim was already dead.
After hearing both sides and going through all the materials on record , the Court convicted David under section 6 of POCSO Act and section 302 of the IPC and fixed tomorrow for the sentence hearing.
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