Death penalty in Salipur minor rape case in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: A special POCSO court in Cuttack on Thursday awarded death sentence to Mohammed Mustaq, accused of raping and murdering a 6-year-old girl in Salipur area on April 21, 2018.

The special POCSO Court on Wednesday had convicted accused Mohammed Mustaqu under sections 302, 363, 376 a-b of IPC and section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The accused had raped a six-year-old girl near a school under Salipur police limits on April 21, 2018. After raping her, he had crushed her head with a stone and the girl succumbed to injuries while undergoing treatment on April 29 last year.

The family members praised the police for their work in ensuring death sentence in Salipur minor rape case. They also demanded that the accused should be hanged at the earliest.

This is the fourth death penalty in relation to minor rape cases in Odisha in the last two months. Apart from the Salipur minor rape case, rape accused had been awarded death penalty in Mayurbhanj, Angul and Jagatsinghpur districts.