Indore: As the sessions court judge pronounced death sentence, one of the convicts, 24-year-old Asif, burst into tears in the courtroom. The other convict, Irfan, just stood motionless. The duo had raped a seven-year-old girl in Mandsaur in June after abducting her from outside her school.While Asif’s brother had come to the court for the final verdict of the case, no one from either Irfan’s family or from the survivor’s family was present in the court.The court ruled that the act committed by the accused came under the category of ‘rarest of rare cases’ and hence entailed a death penalty for them.The verdict was pronounced by special judge Nisha Gupta in presence of the prosecution lawyers, defense lawyers, the two accused and Asif’s brother.The defense lawyers while arguing on the quantum of punishment, prayed to the court for not granting death sentence to the men as their age was less. However, the prosecution counsel pushed for a death penalty since the act of the accused was gruesome and heinous.The two were awarded death penalty for rape of a minor under 12 years of age, life imprisonment for attempt to murder, ten years imprisonment for kidnapping and under POCSO Act.Amidst heavy police force they were escorted back to the jail. Their act had not only risked the life of a minor, but had also instigated communal protest in Mandsaur.Throughout the trial, the court was told about the action taken by police to investigate the matter at the earliest. Among the clinching evidence which solidified the prosecution theory were the accused Irfan’s clothes which were smeared with the survivor’s blood.The survivor had also testified before the court and identified the two accused as the men who had committed the act with her. At the crime spot, the two accused’s hair was found by the police, which was sent for DNA and forensic examination. Medical evidence also helped the prosecution in proving the crime and CCTV footage helped in pointing out the men.

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