29 September,2016 08:20 AM IST | | Faisal Tandel
The Thane Sessions Court yesterday sentenced a 29-year-old man to death for raping and killing a minor
Representational picture
The Thane Sessions Court yesterday sentenced a 29-year-old man to death for raping and killing a minor. He had been arrested more than two years ago by the Wada police, for raping the six-year-old girl, and strangling her to death. On the basis of the statements of 16 witnesses and medical reports, the Special Judge of POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court, Judge Mridula Bhatia, sentenced the accused.
Accused from same village
According to the police, the accused, identified as Atul Lote (29), used to work in a farmhouse near Khudus village in Wada. "The girl was from the same village and the accused knew her family. The incident took place on February 24, 2014, when the girl was playing in an open plot outside her house, with more than five kids," said Sangita Phad, District Government pleader.
Phad said that during investigation, it was found that the accused took the girl on his bicycle to the farmhouse, and raped her. "The incident took place between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm. Lote distributed chocolates among the kids and kidnapped the girl. Later he bought her a samosa and took her to the farmhouse where he raped her. Lote claimed that she was crying and screaming for help, so he got scared that she would reveal his name, and strangled her," added Phad.
The girl's family registered a missing complaint late the same night at Wada police station. "The kids who were playing with the girl identified Lote. Accordingly, we detained him at 12 am on February 25, 2014, and registered a case under 363 (kidnapping) and 366 A of the Indian Penal Code. At around 3am he confessed to the crime, after which he was booked under Section 302 (murder) and different sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act," said a police officer from Wada police station.
The girl's body was sent for post mortem, which ascertained rape. "It was found that the girl had 19 struggle injuries on her body. We sent the body to the Forensic Science Laboratory for a DNA test and later a chemical analysis was done," added Phad.
16 witnesses
The police examined 16 witnesses in the case, whose statements were taken by them under Section 164 of the CRPC. "A seven-year-old boy who was playing with the girl, said that he saw Lote take her on the bicycle. The samosa vendor confirmed that he saw Lote on the day of the incident, and he had purchased a samosa from him," added Phad.
"It is the second case of POCSO of Thane Session's Court where the accused was sentenced to hang till death. The earlier case was from Navi Mumbai," added Phad.
