A local court in Bahraich has sentenced a 25-year-old tractor driver to death and sent his 30-year-old accomplice to 20 years in jail for the gang rape and brutal murder of a girl this April. The convicts have been in jail since their arrest nearly six months ago.
“Additional District and Sessions Judge Nitin Pandey observed that the case falls in the rarest of rare category and sentenced one person to death on Tuesday. The court sentenced his colleague to 20 years in jail,” Manoj Singh, counsel for the district government, said on Wednesday.
According to the prosecution, on April 10, the 13-year-old victim had gone to her father’s shop in the evening to fetch some items. When she did not return, her family and neighbors started searching for her. His body was found in a nearby drain, and villagers saw two local residents fleeing the spot.
As soon as the information was received, the police reached the spot and took the body into custody. The post-mortem report revealed that the girl had 14 injury marks on her body and was strangled to death.
The girl’s family told the police that their tractor driver and his associate were seen near the spot where the body was found. Locals also told the police that the girl was last seen with the driver. Police said that during interrogation, the man confessed to his crime and told investigators about the involvement of his friend, who was then arrested.
The Class VIII student was the only daughter of the complainant. During the hearing, the court examined 11 prosecution witnesses. The judge acquitted the driver’s accomplice of the murder charge after he did not appear to be involved in the murder.
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