The Gwalior Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Wednesday confirmed the death penalty awarded to a man for the rape and subsequent murder of a six year old girl child.
The verdict came following an appeal by the accused Jeetendra Kushwaha, challenging the order of the Additional Sessions Judge, Archana Singh who had earlier convicted and sentenced him to death for the rape and murder of the little child.
Agreeing with the Sessions Court’s verdict the High Court said that the case comes under the category of the rarest of rare cases and that the enormity of the heinous crime of the man had shocked the conscience of the society.
The HC further observed that such people are a menace to society and as such do not deserve any mercy.
According to the prosecution, on June 20, 2018, a 6 year old girl child had gone missing from a marriage function at the Community Hall situated behind the Ayurvedic College. Her parents and relatives frantically searched for her before informing the police. During search operations the mutilated body of a girl was found in the bushes near the Ayurvedic College.
The subsequent post mortem report pointed towards rape before the murder.
The CCTV footage that was installed at one of the houses in the locality helped the police to catch the culprit, Jeetendra Kushwaha within 24 hours.
According to the police, the culprit was living illegally in the college premises.
Taking serious view of the matter, Gwalior SP, Navneet Bhasin formed a special team and directed the officials to complete the investigation as quickly as possible and file charges.
It took only 36 days for the Sessions Court to hear the case and pronounce the verdict. Now, with the High Court rejecting the appeal, the convict and his family are planning to approach the Supreme Court for clemency.