MUMBAI: Submitting that he was a threat to society, special public prosecutor Vaibhav Bagade on Thursday sought the death sentence for a man (33) found guilty of kidnapping, raping and murdering a nine-year-old girl in 2019.
Special Pocso judge HC Shende found the accused, Vadivel aka Gundappa Chinna Tambi Devendra, guilty on Tuesday after which the matter was adjourned for the quantum of sentence. The special judge will pronounce the sentence on Friday.
Defence advocate Sunanda Nandewar said the case did not fall under the "rarest of rare" category. She added that the case was based on circumstantial evidence.
The child's body was recovered a couple of days after the crime from a septic tank of a public toilet not far from her home. The accused was earlier convicted and sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting another nine-year-old girl in 2013.
Referring to this, Bagade further submitted, "Similar offence under Pocso was committed with a victim from the same locality. Hence, he is a threat to society. This makes it a fit case to seek death. His premature release from jail resulted in this offence, he has no respect for law and punishment, this also shows that no reformative theory is available to him. He was convicted for seven years but was released in five years through some scheme. He committed the second act within eight months," Bagade said.
