Chhattisgarh court awards death sentence for raping, killing minor girl in 2017

19-02-2019 20:07 IST 

A court in Balod district of Chhattisgarh has sentenced a 50-year-old man to death for raping and murdering a 12-year-old girl in 2017. Balod District and Session Judge Rajendra Pradhan gave Jhaggar Yadav the death penalty after finding him guilty under relevant sections of the IPC and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, District Prosecution Officer (DPO) M R Qureshi told PTI on Tuesday.

Yadav, a resident of Dallirajhra, had kidnapped the girl on June 5, 2017, raped her at a nearby mine, bludgeoned her to death and dumped her body in the bushes, Qureshi said. He was arrested on June 7 and charged under Sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 363 (kidnapping) and 201 (causing the disappearance of evidence of offence) of the IPC and provisions of the POCSO Act, the officer said. On Monday, Judge Pradhan observed that the case fell in the "rarest of rare" category and handed down the capital punishment to Yadav, the DPO said.

(With inputs from agencies.)

Source: https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/law-order/388191-chhattisgarh-court-awards-death-sentence-for-raping-killing-minor-girl-in-2017 (accessed on 29 May 2019)

Supreme Court commutes death penalty of Chhattisgarh man

By Express News Service |New Delhi |Published: November 29, 2018 5:27:43 am

The Sessions Judge, Durg, had sentenced Verma to death in June 2013, holding it as a rarest of rare case. The Chhattisgarh High Court confirmed the sentence on April 11, 2014.

THE SUPREME Court on Wednesday commuted the death penalty imposed on a Chhattisgarh man convicted of killing three people and attempting to kill a fourth, saying the question whether the accused was capable of reformation was not considered at the time of trial. “No evidence as to the uncommon nature of the offence or the improbability of reformation or rehabilitation of the appellant has been adduced… Whether the person is capable of reformation and rehabilitation should also be taken into consideration while imposing death penalty,” a bench of Justices Kurian Joseph, Deepak Gupta and Hemant Gupta ruled while commuting appellant Chhannu Lal Verma’s sentence to life imprisonment.

The Sessions Judge, Durg, had sentenced Verma to death in June 2013, holding it as a rarest of rare case. The Chhattisgarh High Court confirmed the sentence on April 11, 2014. The incident dates back to October 19, 2011 when Verma entered the house of Anandram Sahu and caused fatal injuries to him, Sahu’s wife Firanteen Bai and daughter-in-law Ratna Sahu. He then entered another house and attacked a woman. The apex court relied on a certificate it received from the jail superintendent, which said that Verma’s conduct in jail had been good. “Thus, there is a clear indication that despite having lost all hope, no frustration has set on the appellant. On the contrary, there was a conscious effort on his part to lead a good life for the remaining period. A convict is sent to jail with the hope and expectation that he would make amends and get reformed. That there is such a positive change on a death row convict, in our view, should also weigh with the Court while taking a decision as to whether the alternative option is unquestionably foreclosed,” the bench said.

Writing for the bench, Justice Joseph referred to the 1980 judgment of a Constitution bench in the Bachan Singh Vs State of Punjab case in which the court had by a 4-1 majority laid down that the death penalty could only be imposed in rarest of rare cases. Justice Joseph wrote, “As held by the Constitution Bench in Bachan Singh.it was the duty of the State to prove by evidence that the convict cannot be reformed or rehabilitated. That information not having been furnished by the State at the relevant time, the information now furnished by the State becomes all the more relevant. The standard set by the ‘rarest of rare’ test in Bachan Singh is a high standard. The conduct of the convict in prison cannot be lost sight of. The fact that the prisoner has displayed good behaviour in prison certainly goes on to show that he is not beyond reform.”

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/supreme-court-commutes-death-penalty-of-chhattisgarh-man-5469909/ (Accessed 25 December 2018)

Man Gets Death Sentence For Raping, Killing 5-Year-Old Girl (Chhattisgarh)

All India | Press Trust of India | Updated: August 26, 2018 13:33 IST

The court also awarded five years' imprisonment each to his mother Kunti Sona, 42, and friend Amrit Singh, 23, for concealing evidence of the offence.

RAIPUR: 

A 24-year-old man has been awarded death sentence by a court in Chhattisgarh's Durg district for raping and murdering a 5-year-old girl speech and hearing impaired girl in 2015. Special Judge, POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act), Shubhra Pachouri, pronounced Ram Sona, guilty on Friday and sentenced him to death, Durg's Additional Public Prosecutor Kamal Kishore Verma told PTI.

The court also awarded five years' imprisonment each to his mother Kunti Sona, 42, and friend Amrit Singh, 23, for concealing evidence of the offence. The convict, a resident of Khursipar locality in Durg, had raped the girl, living in the same area, on February 25, 2015, and then smothered her to death, Mr Verma said. Later, his mother and friend helped him to pack the body in a plastic bag and dumped it at a secluded place in the district, located around 45 km from Raipur, he said.

During the course of investigation into the case, Ram Sona's mother admitted to the crime and the three were subsequently arrested, he said. This is the first case in which the Durg district court has handed death sentence to a rape accused, the prosecutor claimed.

Source: https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/chhattisgarh-man-gets-death-sentence-for-raping-killing-5-year-old-speech-and-hearing-impaired-girl-1906377 (Accessed 25 December 2018)

SC Stays Execution Of Death Sentence - Rape And Murder Of 3-Year-Old Girl (Chhattisgarh)

BY: ASHOK K.M APRIL 6, 2018 11:51 AM

The gullibility and vulnerability of a 3-year-old girl, who could not have nurtured any idea about the maladroitly designed biological desires of this nature, accompanied the accused who extinguished her life spark, the high court had observed. The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of the death sentence of a man accused of rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl. 

The Chhattisgarh High Court had dismissed the appeal filed by the accused who was found guilty by the trial court. It had also confirmed the death sentence awarded to him. In this case, after the girl went missing, the accused, Lochan Shrivas, himself claimed that he can trace the whereabouts of the girl within an within an hour by performing pooja and the parents of victim girl approached him and asked him to perform pooja and also provided him material required for performing pooja. After pooja, he informed them that the girl is packed in a gunny bag lying in the bushes near the pole at Amlibhauna. This made them suspect the accused and later the police registered the case. During interrogation, he spelt out details of the crime and later he was chargesheeted and convicted by the trial court.

While confirming the death sentence, the high court had observed: “The appellant’s conduct exhibits total disregard for human values and shows a totally depraved, brutal and scheming mind taking advantage of helplessness of a child, who had only seen three springs of life.” The division bench had also observed: “Life of a girl was taken away in a gruesome and barbaric manner which pricks not only the judicial conscience but also the conscience of the society. The crime in question was not committed under any mental stress or emotional disturbance and therefore it is difficult to comprehend that he would not commit such acts and would be reformed or rehabilitated.” The bench headed by the Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, granting leave to appeal, also directed the Registry to call for the records.

Source: https://www.livelaw.in/sc-stays-execution-death-sentence-man-accused-rape-murder-3-year-old-girl-read-order/ (Accessed 24 December 2018)

Supreme Court stays couple’s execution in human sacrifice case (Chattisgarh)

Updated: Aug 17, 2017 18:28 IST

Press Trust of India 

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the execution of a couple, sentenced to death in a case of sacrificing a two-year-old boy. 

A bench headed by Justice Dipak Misra admitted the appeal filed by the condemned prisoners, Ishwari Lal Yadav, and his wife Kiran Bai, whose death penalty was confirmed by the Chattisgarh High Court in the human sacrifice case. “Let the lower court records be called for. There shall be stay of the execution of the death sentence. Let the matter be listed before the appropriate bench in the week commencing November 28,” the bench, also comprising Justices Amitava Roy and A M Khanwilkar, said. 

The case dates back to November 23, 2010 when Chirag, the two-year-old son of Poshan Singh Rajput, went missing while playing outside his house in Ruabandha area of Chattisgarh’s Bhilai Nagar. It was alleged that the two main accused, Yadav and his wife, used to indulge in Tantric (ancient yogic spiritual) practices. Kiran Bai had allegedly asked him to get a small child for sacrifice and the boy was kidnapped and allegedly killed in a gruesome manner. The family members of the boy and other neighbours had heard loud music coming from Yadav’s house. 

On suspicion, they entered the house and found blood stains, bowls of blood and chopped body parts in a room, the prosecution had alleged. The child’s body was recovered buried in the room following Yadav’s interrogation.

Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/supreme-court-stays-couple-s-execution-in-human-sacrifice-case/story-k8AqSmGMgeMr4i8ozKVzQJ.html (Accessed 23 December 2018)