Man Sentenced To Death For Rape, Murder Of 4-Year-Old Assam Girl In 2023

The Assam Court on Monday pronounced death sentence to a man for the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl in 2023.

Bilasipara Additional and District Court Special Judge Rana Dutta described the crime as the "rarest of rare" and announced capital punishment.

Dutta handed down additional statutory sentences and imposed fines under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act to the convict Utpal Roy.

The judge sentenced Roy to capital punishment for murder. He was also directed to pay a fine of Rs 10,000, failing which he will undergo six months of simple imprisonment.

The convict also got five years of rigorous imprisonment and was fined Rs 4,000 for causing the disappearance of evidence and giving false information to screen an offender. The court sentenced the convict to 20 years of imprisonment and fined Rs 50,000 for aggravated penetrative sexual assault against a child.

The judge ruled that all sentences will run concurrently.

The sentence comes three years after a four-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and subsequently killed at Krishnakali Tea Estate in Dhubri district.

According to reports, on September 4, 2023, Roy allegedly lured the child with the promise of chocolate, sexually assaulted her and subsequently murdered her.

Following the incident, a case of rape, murder and removal of evidence was filed. Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act which deals with punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault, was also added to the case.

Roy was later arrested, and the police filed the chargesheet in March 2024. 

After more than three years of legal proceedings, Dutta delivered the verdict, sentencing the convict to death for the rape and murder of the child.