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BIJNOR: Special judge of POCSO Act court on Tuesday sentenced life term to a 40-year-old man who was convicted of raping and murdering his 12-year-old step-daughter.

Special Judge OP Verma pronounced life imprisonment to the accused Gurmer Singh and imposed a fine of Rs 30,000. The judge said out of the fine, Rs 20, 000 would be given to the deceased’s mother as monetary help.

The incident happened in November last year following which a case was registered against the accused by the victim’s mother. Local police had produced chargesheet earlier this year following which the trial began. Almost 13 months after the incident, the accused was convicted for his crime.

According to prosecutor Vinish Kumar, the incident took place at a village under Himpur Deepa police station area limits. A 12 year-old-girl was raped and murdered by Singh on November 3, last year. She was strangled to death and her body was dumped into a stream at Madhya Ganga canal.

The matter came to light next day when passers-by spotted the girl’s body that was washed ashore near the canal. They recognized the girl and informed her mother. Later, the mother filed a complaint against Singh.

Singh was later booked under section 376 of the POCSO Act and section 302 (punishment for murder) of the IPC.

(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)

