19-year-old sentenced to death penalty for raping seven month infant

A 19-year-old rape accused has been sentenced to death by the Rajasthan High Court for raping a 7-month old infant. This is the first death sentence ordered by a court in Rajasthan after the tougher sexual abuse law was passed by the state assembly in March that allows death penalty in rape of minors under 12 years of age.

Rajasthan is the second state in the country to have brought such a law in force after Madhya Pradesh passed it in December. Hemant Priyadarshi, IG, Jaipur gave a statement to the media welcoming the sentencing of the 19-year old rape accused.

I'm professionally satisfied with the verdict. Taking everything into account the entire team as a system have been able to deliver as per expectation&spirit of amended law:Hemant Priyadarshi(IG Jaipur) on man awarded death sentence by an Alwar Court for raping a 7-month-old girl pic.twitter.com/xLYbME0zSh

— ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2018

According to the police reports and NDTV, a relative was babysitting the child when the accused took her away on May 9. When the parents came looking for the baby, they were told by the relative that a neighbour had taken her away. She was later found crying in a football field, about a kilometre from their home in Laxmangarh.

The baby was then admitted in Alwar hospital for 20 days. The accused was arrested later and medical examination confirmed rape.

“This is the first such case in Rajasthan and the third in the country. In the first two cases, the accused was given death sentence,” public prosecutor Kuldeep Jain told NDTV.

The case was fast-tracked and “trial in this case was completed after 13 hearings,” he said. The prosecution said it is hopeful the special judge in the case, Jagendra Agarwal, will award the severest penalty in the rape case.

Also Read: Minor girl raped for 7 months in Chennai, 17 arrested