A special court in Pune for cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act on Monday sentenced a 38-year-old laborer to death for the abduction, rape and murder of a two-and-a-half-year-old girl. In Velhe taluka of the district in February 2021.
Convict Sanjay Baban Katkar was sentenced to death under Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
The girl was abducted on February 15, 2021 from the premises of her house in a village in Velhe. Later his body was found at a secluded place under a bridge in Malkhed area of Haveli taluka. Five days later, after an extensive investigation, the Pune Rural Police arrested Katkar, who had been hiding in a brick kiln in Raigad district after committing the crime.
During the hearing, 16 prosecution witnesses were examined along with circumstantial evidence gathered by the investigating team, officials said.