Man gets life sentence for kidnapping, murder of 2-year-old girl in 2014

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) A convict serving a life term for raping and killing a minor has been awarded a similar sentence in a separate case of kidnapping and murder of a two-year-old girl.

Additional Sessions Judge Amit Sahrawat was hearing the arguments on sentencing against Ravinder, who had been convicted in a 2014 case last month, under IPC sections 302 (murder) and 363 (kidnapping).

The chief public prosecutor, Aaditya Kumar, claimed that the convict was a "serial killer” who had earlier also kidnapped, raped and murdered other children.

Kumar claimed that around 30 similar cases were registered against Ravinder.

Requesting capital punishment, he argued that the kidnapping and murder of a two-year-old child showed that the convict was a "psychopath", who was beyond reformation.

In an order dated September 12, the court said, "Although the convict has an elderly mother to look after, the said fact is not sufficient to reduce the pain and sorrow of the victim's parents." "The pain of losing a two-and-a-half-year-old child cannot be alleviated by any mitigating factor, and thus convict is required to be dealt with an iron hand,” it added.

The court noted the prosecutor's argument that several cases had been registered against Ravinder for the rape and murder of minor children.

It said, “But at the same time, it is also considerable that in most of these cases he has been acquitted, and he has been convicted only in three cases, including this one. Thus, the case of the convict cannot be considered in that scenario that he has committed kidnapping, rape and murder of about 30 minor children.” Judge Sahrawat said that a capital sentence could only be imposed where it was the only option left with the court, and where any other sentence was not sufficient to balance the misdeeds of the convict with the sorrows and sufferings of the victim’s family.

“In the present case, this court does not find any such circumstance that a capital sentence is the only option which could provide some relief to the victim and her family members. Hence, the present case does not fall in the category of rarest of rare cases," he added.

The judge then sentenced the convict to life imprisonment under IPC Section 302.

Earlier in May 2023, a court had sentenced Ravinder to rigorous imprisonment for life for kidnapping, raping and murdering a six-year-old girl in 2015.

The court remarked that the convict committed a "cold-blooded rape and murder".

The act was so gruesome and inhumane that the convict did not deserve any leniency or sympathy from the court, it said.

The court also said the crime was no less than an "act of a predator" and it had shaken the conscience of society. "The child cannot be expected to provoke the convict to sexually assault her and kill her." PTI MNR NB