Gudiya rape case: Accused awarded life imprisonment

Shimla:The Session and CBI court Shimla on Friday awarded life imprisonment to accused Anil Kumar, alias Nillu, in the Gudiya rape and murder case. Kumar was convicted on April 28.

Sessions Judge, Shimla, Rajeev Bhardwaj sentenced the 28-yr-old accused to life imprisonment on the charges of raping and murdering the16-year-old girl on July 4, 2017 in Kotkhai area of Shimla district.

Notably, the CBI special Judge held the accused guilty in all the four account when he was convicted in the court here on April 28.Kumar has been held guilty under sections 376 (2)(i), 376 (A), and 302 of the Indian Penal Code and section 4 of the POCSO Act.

The convict was held guilty on a concrete testimony that is matching of his DNA with samples found on the crime spot.

The verdict said that the crime was committed in a spur of the moment, with Nillu making up his mind to rape and kill the victim when he encountered her on a passage in the forest when the 16-year-old was walking from school to home.

Owing to an ongoing sports tournament in the school, her brother and other schoolmates who usually accompanied her stayed back and she decided to walk to her house alone – a 1.5-hour journey on foot, which included trekking through a forest.

Two days later, her body was found in a ditch in the forest, with her clothes, an empty liquor bottle, and some other items scattered around her.

An autopsy indicated that she died due to the cumulative effect of “homicidal smothering and manual strangulation in a case of recent forcible penetrative sexual assault”. In layman's language, she was raped and murdered.

The incident triggered massive protests and uproar in Kotkhai, Shimla and other parts of the hill state where crimes of such nature are rare.

CBI's chargesheet blamed the accused that on the day of the crime, Nillu consumed liquor in the afternoon and met the victim on a deserted path while she was on her way home.

He first had an altercation with her, following which he caught and dragged her into the forest adjoining the path, where he raped, smothered and strangled her.

He left the spot, but returned sometime later after purchasing liquor from someone's house around 800 metres away, the CBI believes.

While leaving, he left behind the empty liquor bottle at the crime scene, which according to the CBI has been identified by the seller.

Several people who saw him in the area before and after the crime or sold liquor to him on the day of the crime have identified him, the charge sheet said.

Other witnesses include a widow whom he allegedly sexually assaulted a-day-and-a-half after the murder.

He also allegedly tried to steal someone's clothes and molested another woman before leaving the area a few days later, the charge sheet said.

Around 55 prosecution witnesses deposed during the trial in a special court in Shimla.(UNI)