india

Updated: Sep 19, 2019 19:41 IST

A POCSO court in Odisha’s Cuttack district on Thursday handed capital punishment to a 26-year-old man on charges of rape and murder of a six-year-old girl last year.

The court sentenced Sheikh Mushtaq, who was accused of raping and murdering the minor girl in Cuttack, said special public prosecutor Souri Mohapatra.

The court on Wednesday had convicted Mushtaq under sections 363, 302, 367 (a) & (b) of IPC and 6 of POCSO Act but had reserved the judgment.

The death sentence is 4th such ruling in the last two months under the POCSO Amendment Act in Odisha which has the provision of capital punishment in rape cases involving minor girls under 12 years of age.

In April last year, Mushtaq, the neighbour of the girl, had lured her to a school with the promise of chocolate and toffees. He then took her away to a primary school where he tried to have sex with the girl.

When the girl cried, Mushtaq throttled her neck and banged her face on the school wall injuring her. He then left the six-year-old there thinking her to be dead. She slipped into a coma and died in a government hospital five days later.