'Deserves No Leniency': Man Sentenced To Death Over Rape, Murder Of Minor Girl In Pune

A man was sentenced to death by a special court in Pune for the rape and murder of a child.

During the trial, Special Public Prosecutor Rajesh Kavediya examined 29 witnesses. 

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A man, 27, on Friday was sentenced to death, by a special court in Maharashtra's Pune, for the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in 2022. According to a PTI report, the convict’s 48-year-old mother was also sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for destroying evidence in the case.

Additional Sessions Judge B P Kshirsagar of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court while handing down the punishment noted the case falls in the "rarest of the rare category" and the convict, named Tejas Dalvi, does not deserve any leniency for the heinous crime. The court held the mother-son duo guilty on different charges. According to a report by The Indian Express, during the trial, Special Public Prosecutor Rajesh Kavediya examined 29 witnesses. 

Kidnapped, Killed & Dumped In A Pit 

On August 2, 2022, the child was kidnapped from the courtyard of her house in a village under Maval tehsil. Her body was found the next day, there were signs of sexual assault and she had injuries on her throat, as per the PTI report citing the police.

According to The Indian Express, Pune rural police launched a probe into the incident. 

During the investigation, the name of Tejas Dalvi cropped up. Police said Dalvi, at the time, was 24 years old, and he worked at a farmhouse, as per The Indian Express. The police also discovered that Dalvi was fond of pornographic videos, the report said.

Further probe revealed he had kidnapped the girl, took her to his house, where he sexually assaulted and later killed her by slitting her throat, the police stated, as per PTI. Dalvi dumped her body, in a pit below a tree behind his house. Meanwhile, his mother helped him destroy evidence of the brutal crime.

Police arrested both the accused and charged them under relevant sections of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act).