‘Rarest of the rare’: Death penalty to 65-year-old man in toddler rape-murder case

Relying on CCTV footage, DNA profiling, and a chain of circumstantial evidence, a special fast-track court in Pune Monday sentenced a 65-year-old man to death for the rape and murder of a three-year-old girl, less than 60 days after the crime, holding that the case fell in the “rarest of the rare” category.

Special Judge S R Salunkhe awarded three death sentences in connection with murder, rape, and under a provision of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

The act of the convict was “brutal, inhuman and barbaric”, said the court as it observed that the crime did not just shock the judicial conscience but also the public conscience. The court cited incidents of rape in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kathua and Unnao in Uttar Pradesh in the judgment, observing the brutal crimes and subsequent public outrage.

The convict was produced before the court under tight police security at 11 am as the courtroom filled with family members of the victim, lawyers, journalists, and members of the public. The victim’s parents and family members broke down after Special Judge Salunkhe announced the sentence.

On June 25, Special Judge Salunkhe convicted the man and posted the matter for sentencing Monday after hearing the prosecution and defence on the aggravating and mitigating circumstances.

According to the police, the girl, who was at her grandmother’s house, was raped and murdered on the afternoon of May 1.

How the prosecution built the case

While pronouncing the man guilty, the court held that the prosecution proved both the last seen theory and the chain of evidence beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecution established that the accused was the last person seen with the victim while she was alive, and the evidence placed no one else in her company before her death.

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The court also found the chain of circumstantial evidence complete and unbroken, with every crucial link reinforcing the prosecution’s case and pointing only to the accused’s guilt. These aspects were reiterated by the court in the sentencing order.

Special Public Prosecutor Ajay Misar, investigating officer Inspector Vijaymala Pawar, and Sandeep Singh Gill, Superintendent of Police, Pune Rural, were present in the court.

39-minute window and crucial CCTV footage

Special Public Prosecutor Misar anchored the prosecution’s closing arguments around six crucial CCTV footages, which, he said, reconstructed the sequence of events. The footage allegedly showed the accused taking the victim towards the crime scene at 3.12 pm and returning alone at 3.51 pm, establishing that she remained in his custody for 39 minutes.

The prosecution argued that it was during this period that the accused sexually assaulted the victim, committed an unnatural sexual act, murdered her, and concealed her body.

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Misar relied on the post-mortem report, medical records, and detailed analysis of the injuries to contend that the medical evidence corroborated the prosecution’s reconstruction. He also pointed to CCTV footage that showed the accused conducting reconnaissance of the crime scene and nearby houses before committing the offence, suggesting that the crime was pre-planned.

DNA profiling, medical evidence

Misar argued that the defence put forward by the accused in his statement to the court was completely false and had been demolished by scientific evidence. He submitted that DNA profiling, medical evidence and other forensic material conclusively established the accused’s involvement in the crime.

The prosecution added that the accused displayed extreme brutality even after the victim’s death by sexually assaulting her body. It also drew the court’s attention to the accused’s composed body language after the incident, noting that he used his knowledge of legal procedures, acquired through prior criminal cases, to destroy evidence and mislead the investigation.

Chain of custody, witnesses and Supreme Court precedents

The prosecution maintained that it had established a complete and unbroken chain of evidence through the statements of key witnesses, including a child witness, spot panchnamas, identification parade records, seized articles, chemical analysis reports, and other scientific evidence. It stressed that the chain of custody had remained intact throughout the investigation, ruling out any possibility of tampering with evidence.

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During the hearing, which drew a large crowd to the court premises and necessitated heavy police deployment, Misar, assisted by Advocate Prathamesh Shingane, cited several Supreme Court judgments and explained each statutory provision invoked against the accused.

The prosecution argued that the offence was committed in a cold, calculated, and premeditated manner, driven solely by lust and not in a sudden fit of rage, warning that such crimes have grave consequences for society.

Concluding his arguments, Misar submitted that every charge framed against the accused had been proved beyond doubt and urged the court to award the maximum and most stringent punishment.

The brutal crime caused massive public outrage, leading people to block the Pune-Bengaluru Highway for several hours.

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A special investigation team (SIT) comprising 15 police personnel worked to gather evidence and file the chargesheet within 15 days of the incident. The police filed a 1,100-page chargesheet on May 16, charging the accused with kidnapping, rape, aggravated rape of a minor, murder, outraging modesty, abduction to murder, destruction of evidence under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), along with offences under the Pocso Act.

Charges were framed against the accused on May 28, marking the beginning of the trial. Prosecution examined 55 witnesses.