Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court today rejected the appeal of an accused of the rape and murder of a 3 and a half year old girl against the death sentence awarded by a lower court in Surat city.

The division bench of Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice A C Rao maintained the capital punishment (death sentence) to the accused Anil Yadav (24), a native of Bihar, accepting the lower court observation that the crime was ‘rarest of rare’.

Earlier on July 31, the court of Additional Session Judge P S Kala in Surat had held the accused Anil Yadav (24) – a native of Buxar district in Bihar settled in Surat, guilty under various sections of the IPC and Pocso Act including 302 (murder), 376AB (section included after amendment and which provides for capital punishment for rape of girls below 12 years of age), 377 (unnatural act of sex), 366 (Kidnapping a woman/girl) and 201 ( causing disappearance of evidence of offence) and awarded capital punishment.

The accused had on October 14 last year, caught the 3 year seven months old innocent girl when she was passing from near his residence in Ghodadara area under Limabayat police station of Surat city and taken her in to his house. He had repeatedly raped her and then killed her. He put her body in a gunny sack and fled to his native place from where he was nabbed after four days and brought back to Surat. The charges were framed in the last week of January after which the trial began.The body of the girl was found on October 15 from the house of Yadav packed in a sack. Medical examination confirmed the rape.

The accused had approached the High court with an appeal against the lower court judgment.

DeshGujarat