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Bhopal: Death penalty for accused in rape and murder of minor

District court pronounces verdict within 33 days of the incident

This is the 27th death sentence pronounced in Madhya Pradesh after it passed a law in February 2018 for capital punishment to rapists and murderers of minors below 12 years of age | File

The Bhopal District and Sessions Court on Thursday pronounced capital punishment for the accused in rape and murder of a nine-year-old girl in Bhopal. The court of additional district judge Kumudini Patel awarded death penalty to accused Vishnu Bamore after finding him guilty of raping and killing a nine-year-old minor girl in Nehru Nagar locality on June 8. 

The trial was completed on Wednesday and the order reserved for Thursday. The 33-year-old accused reportedly showed no emotions after getting the harsh sentence.

This is the 27th death sentence pronounced in Madhya Pradesh after it passed a law in February 2018 for capital punishment to rapists and murderers of minors below 12 years of age. 

Bamore has been held guilty under Sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural sex) and 302 (murder) of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. 

After confessing to the crime soon after his arrest on June 11, Bamore had changed his statement in court on July 4 and claimed he was innocent. However, a 108-page charge-sheet and 40 witnesses presented in the court by the prosecution proved his was guilty of the charges. 

The nine-year-old girl, who was missing from evening of June 8 from a slum in Bhopal, was raped and found murdered on June 9. The victim’s body was found in a drain near her residence in Nehru Nagar. The accused Vishnu is a neighbor of the victim and had been found absconding after the body was recovered, though he was present at the spot on the night of crime when search was on for the girl. The accused was later arrested from Khandwa.

The post-mortem report had confirmed sexual assault and death due to strangulation. Home Minister Bala Bachchan suspended seven policemen, including a head constable, for inaction in the case.