A special court gave the death sentence to a man who has been convicted of rape and murder of a four-year-old girl last year. The convict named Sonu Gupta kidnapped, raped, and killed a minor last year on December 1. The body of the minor girl was found the following day near the forest area of Sahibabad city.
In total, six police teams were deputed to crack the case as soon as possible. Approximately 150 CCTV footage were obtained by police personnel during the investigation. Based on the findings, police arrested the 20-year-old Sonu Gupta from the 40-feet road of Deendayal Puri of Nandgram police station six days after the tragic incident. He was then sent to jail.
DCP Trans Hindon Deeksha Sharma said, "Police filed a charge sheet in the case against Sonu within 15 days of the incident. The court of Additional District and Sessions (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) judge awarded the death sentence."
The officer added, "The court on Friday held Sonu guilty after listening to 16 witnesses."
Sonu Gupta, the convict who was a factory worker confessed his crimes of abducting the girl with the intention of raping her. However, when she started to scream, Gupta strangled her to death.
Police during the investigation relied on a DNA test to identify the culprit. Police also found an entry ticket for the city's forest area from the accused, this confirmed his presence at the crime scene, said, DCP Sharma.
In a similar incident, two accused convicted in the brutal rape, kidnapping, and murder case of a minor were sentenced to death by the court in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh in November 2022. The accused Haleem and Rizwan, residents of the Parsai village of Nawabganj Kotwali area, were sentenced to death and fined ₹ 50 thousand by the court.
(With inputs from PTI)