Gujarat Court convicts man for rape, murder of minor girl within month of his arrest

The court convicted the accused under various charges of kidnapping, rape and murder under the IPC and POCSO Act.

Surat: The POCSO court here in Gujarat on Monday convicted a 35-year-old migrant worker for raping and murdering a two-and-a-half-year-old girl around 28 days after his arrest and is set to pronounce the verdict on Tuesday, the prosecution said.

The court convicted the accused, Guddu Yadav, under various charges of kidnapping, rape and murder under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Special POCSO court judge PS Kala has convicted Yadav after listening to arguments from both sides. The quantum of punishment will be pronounced by the court on Tuesday.

On the last day of the hearing, public prosecutor Nayan Sukhadwala demanded capital punishment for the convict, who hailed from Bihar and was currently working at a factory in the Pandesara area of Surat city with his wife and two children.

Yadav's lawyer sought leniency claiming that capital punishment would make his children's future uncertain.

As per the prosecution, a two-and-a-half-year-old daughter of a migrant worker couple, also from Bihar, was abducted, sexually assaulted and then smothered to death by Yadav, who lives in the Pandesara area, on the night of November 4.

Her body was found on November 7 near a factory, located about one km away from her house.

After scanning several CCTV footage and collecting information from their informers and locals, police arrested Yadav on November 9.

To ensure that justice is delivered at the earliest, the Pandesara police had submitted a charge sheet in seven days. The court recorded statements of 43 witnesses.