Gir Somnath, July 30
A special POCSO court has sentenced to death a 32-year-old man for raping and murdering an eight-year-old girl in Gujarat’s Gir Somnath district in 2022.
In an order passed on Monday, special judge SI Bhorania at Kodinar town ordered that Somabhai Solanki be “hanged by the neck till he is dead” and also directed him to pay Rs 25,000 as fine.
The court counted this as the “rarest of the rare case” after observing that the accused committed the crime in a very cruel and heartless manner, leaving it with no other option but to sentence him to death.
The gruesome crime occurred in a village under Kodinar taluka of Gir Somnath district in June 2022. The district police had formed a special investigation team which arrested Solanki 25 days after the horrific incident, said public prosecutor Ketansinh Vala.
The accused was charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) for rape, murder of the minor girl and disposing of her body at an isolated place.
“A total of 55 documentary evidences were presented before the court and the prosecution examined the family members of the victim, her neighbours, police as well as forensic officials during the trial,” Vala told mediapersons.
Scientific and circumstantial evidence collected by investigators helped the prosecution in securing conviction and the harshest punishment for the accused, he said.
The court also directed that the minor girl’s family be paid Rs 17 lakh under the Gujarat Victim Compensation Scheme, 2019.
