The POCSO court at the sessions court in Haldwani here has sentenced main accused Akhtar Ali to death by hanging while his accomplice Prempal was sentenced to five years of hard labour for the rape and murder of seven-year old Kashish at Bindukhatta in 2014. POCSO court judge Preetu Sharma announced the judgement here on Friday. As the judgement was announced in the jam packed court, Kashish’s father burst into tears and said that he was satisfied with the verdict.
The lalkuan police inspector Vipin Chandra Pant had filed the chargesheet in this case based on 40 witnesses and forensic information.
The seven-year old girl had travelled with her family from Pithoragarh to Haldwani to attend a marriage function when on November 20, 2014, she was abducted from the programme venue at Ramlila Maidan. Her disfigured dead body was recovered from the woods five days later. Investigating the case, Pant collected clothes found near her body, trouser and blood among other items which were sent to the scientific laboratory in Dehradun for DNA profiling. The police released a sketch of the main suspect seen near the programme venue and deputed teams to check for links in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and other States. On the basis of CDR location, the main suspect Akhtar Ali was caught on November 27, 2014 from ludhiana in Punjab. In his possession, the police found the blanket used in the incident, mobile phone, two SIM cards, a railway ticket from Haldwani to ludhiana and an identity card. In his statement, the man confessed to having committed the crime while also revealing the names of his accomplices involved in the crime- Prempal the driver and Junior Masih. On November 28, 2014 the police nabbed the duo named by Ali. Acting on information revealed by Ali, the police recovered Kashish’s hair-band from the jungles of Gaula. The blood samples of the three suspects and other items were sent to the forensic laboratory in Dehradun where Ali’s DNA sample turned out to be a positive match. Within a period of two months, the investigating officer filed a 12-page charge sheet in the case on January 26, 2015. Based on the investigation, statements, mobile surveillance, post mortem report, DNA report, medical report and other factors, a case was lodged under various sections against the accused Ali and Prempal. Earlier on March 5, the POCSO court found the allegations on Ali and Prempal to be proven true but reserved its judgement while the third accused-Junior Masih was given the benefit of doubt and let off.
It is pertinent to mention here that earlier on July 10, 2012, an eight year old girl Sanjana was raped and murdered with her body being discovered from the farm on the next day. Inspector Pant was also among those who played a role in successful investigation of the Sanjana rape cum murder case. The Sanjana and Kashish rape and murder cases are stated to be the first cases in Uttarakhand which resulted in death sentences being awarded to the main accused based on evidence established using scientific techniques like DNA analysis. Inspector Pant believes that simply nabbing the accused and sending him to jail is not enough without collection of various evidence and witnesses and other clues vital for redressing the case.