Jharkhand court gives death to 3 for gang rape, murder of minor

The court of the Third Additional District and Sessions Judge-cum-Pocso Court in Deoghar on Saturday awarded the death penalty to three accused in connection with the gang-rape and murder of a minor girl that took place in 2020. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 75,000 on each, to be paid to the family of the deceased.

According to the FIR filed on April 10, 2020, the victim's father said that his daughter was studying in class 10. “On the evening of April 8, 2020, she left home on a bicycle to do some household chores but never returned,” he said. All attempts by family members to trace her remained futile. Later, the girl's body was recovered from the forest along Bhagwanpur-Ghormara road under Mohanpur police station area two days after she went missing. Her body and face showed numerous signs of injuries that were caused by indiscriminate stabbing to conceal her identity.

An autopsy report suggested that she was gang-raped before being brutally murdered. A total of four accused have been arrested in the case, including a juvenile who is still on trial in juvenile court. The other three accused who received death sentence were identified as Vishnu Yadav, Ritlal Yadav and Bhavesh Yadav, all hailing from villages under Mohanpur police station area.