A 19-year-old man was ordered to be hanged by an SC/ST court in Jaipur on Saturday, 21 July, on the account of raping a seven-month-old girl in Rajasthan. This comes only months after the amendment to the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The amendment passed by the state Assembly earlier in March allowed for death penalty to be rewarded in rape of minors up to 12 years of age.
After examining 21 evidences during several days of continuous hearing, judge Jagendra Agarwal, on Wednesday, found the rape accused Pintu guilty. While Rajasthan is the second state to bring this law into force after Madhya Pradesh, this is the first case where a death penalty has been ordered by a court after the amendment.
This incident came to light in March, when the accused picked up the baby from the house of her partially-blind grandmother, who was baby-sitting her, and raped her in a school building, Hindustan Times reported. According to News X, the parents found the baby crying in a football field, more than a kilometre away from their home.
“I’m professionally satisfied with the verdict. Taking everything into account the entire team as a system have been able to deliver as per expectation and spirit of amended law,” the IG of Jaipur, Hemant Priyadarshi told ANI.
The chairperson of the state women’s commission, Suma Sharma hailed the decision and told Hindustan Times, “It will bring relief to mothers of girls who worry about the safety of their daughters.”
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