Abolish Death Penalty India: Gujarat: POCSO court sentences Valsad resident Razak Khan to death for rape and murder of a minor girl

Saturday, December 6, 2025

Gujarat: POCSO court sentences Valsad resident Razak Khan to death for rape and murder of a minor girl

December 6, 2025 | 1:54 PM

A special POCSO court in Vapi town of Valsad district in Gujarat gave the death penalty to a 42-year-old man for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and murdering a minor girl in 2023. The order was passed on Thursday, 4th December, by the Court of Justice H. N. Vakil.

Razak Subhan Khan gets death sentence for kidnap (Image via X/TheTreeni)

The court also directed that the victim’s family must be given ₹17 lakh as compensation. The convict, identified by police as Razak Khan Subhan Khan, is currently lodged in Surat Central Jail.

Officials said this is the second time the same POCSO court has given a death sentence in a case of rape and murder of a minor girl. The first was in 2023, when another minor girl was raped and killed.

Court relies on strong evidence: Bite marks, CCTV footage, and witness accounts

Surat District Government Pleader Nayan Sukhadwala, who argued the case for the prosecution, said the evidence against the accused was very strong. He explained that bite marks were clearly visible on the child’s body, and the clothes she was wearing were used by the accused to strangle her.

He added that CCTV footage played a crucial part in confirming the sequence of events. The footage showed the accused casually visiting a nearby tea stall for tea and cigarettes after committing the crime. Sukhadwala also pointed out that the accused is a father of three children and that his youngest daughter is around the same age as the victim. The court also noted that the accused had been trying to lure the victim for around six days before the crime by offering her biscuits and chocolates. Medical evidence, witness testimonies, and other circumstantial proof together helped strengthen the prosecution’s case.

Girl went missing while going to meet grandfather

The incident took place on 23rd October 2023. That day, the young girl had left her home around 11:15 am to go and meet her grandfather. When she did not return for hours, her mother went to the grandfather’s workplace but learnt that the child had left more than an hour earlier. Worried family members and neighbours began searching for her but could not find the girl. Later, her mother filed a kidnapping complaint at the local police station.

Police and locals launch massive search; child’s body found in bushes

Soon after, the Valsad district police formed multiple search teams. More than 250 residents from the area joined the late-night search operation. Later, the child’s body was found near a pond, hidden in bushes. She was identified by her mother and grandfather. Based on the medical examination, police registered an offence of kidnapping, rape and murder under the harsh IPC and POCSO sections.

FIR details and sections applied in the case

The FIR was registered in 2023 at Dungara Police Station in Valsad district of Gujarat. Charges were applied under multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including Section 363 (kidnapping), Section 302 (murder), Section 376AB (rape of a minor under 12), and Section 377. Also, sections 4 and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, were added for aggravated sexual assault of a child.

Accused arrested within two days

Police analysed CCTV footage from nearby areas and spotted a man walking with the victim. After a two-day manhunt, the accused, Razak Khan, was arrested on 26th October 2023. He was sent to nine days’ police custody for interrogation and medical tests. DNA samples of both the accused and the victim were sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) in Surat. All required procedures were followed, evidence collected, and a chargesheet was soon submitted in the special POCSO court. Sukhadwala was later appointed as the special government pleader to handle the trial from the prosecution’s side. According to the media reports, Defence lawyer H. D. Modi called the punishment “too harsh” and said the court had not considered some major points raised by the defence. He confirmed that the convict will challenge the death sentence in the Gujarat High Court after receiving the full judgment copy.

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The Death Penalty Scenario in India

India is one of 193 countries that retains the death penalty. Some judges have delivered landmark verdicts upholding the rights of death row prisoners, while debates continue advocating abolition or reform of sentencing policies. The Indian government remains committed to retention, asserting executions occur only in “rarest of rare” cases. The death penalty applies to crimes including murder, kidnapping, terrorism, desertion, inducement to suicide of a minor or mentally-retarded person, and in certain cases of rape. Outrage over child rape and murder has intensified these discussions. After an unofficial eight-year moratorium, the government executed Ajmal Kasab (Mumbai attacks) in 2012 and Afzal Guru (Parliament attack) in 2013, both covertly and immediately after mercy petitions were rejected. Prior to this, Dhananjoy Chatterjee was executed in 2004 after 13 years on death row. Following these, many mercy petitions have been rejected, creating fear among death row convicts. Courts continue to hand down death sentences at an increasing rate. Empirical studies highlight the plight of death row prisoners. The India Exclusion Report 2017-18 found fair trial rights largely denied, with convicts often marginalized by caste, religion, poverty, and education. The Death Penalty Research Project (2015) documented socio-economic profiles and experiences of death row prisoners. Dr. Reena Mary George’s studies (2014, 2009) emphasized poverty, social exclusion, and dignity as central to death row experiences, and examined the human rights impact of the penalty. According to the National Crime Records Bureau 2015, 101 prisoners were on death row, with many sentences commuted to life. The “rarest of rare” doctrine introduced by the Supreme Court in the 1980s has not substantially limited death sentences, which have increased over the decades. Justice Joseph (2018) reaffirmed the Bachan Singh judgment but urged restriction of the death penalty to only those cases meeting its criteria. While updating the blog and conducting my own empirical studies, I observed the heinous nature of the crimes that were committed and thought about the families, about their loss, about the victims who for no fault of their own died. If I lost my relative or a dear friend, would I still oppose death penalty and would I still advocate to abolish the death sentence? Having worked in the criminal justice system and also having the seen the other side, where often it is the marginalized, vulnerable and oppressed who are on death row makes me want to advocate for abolition of this punishment. Victims should definitely get justice for their loss, for their pain. No one should escape the rule of law. As long as humanity exists; crime will exist. Should we not re-consider our sentencing policies? Reena Mary George