A special court in Haryana's Nuh district has concluded a trial in a 2019 case that had shocked the region and convicted the accused. The fast track POCSO court, set up to speed up justice in crimes against minors, sentenced the man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for the unnatural sexual assault and murder of a 17-year-old boy. The court also imposed a fine of ₹45,000 on the convict.
The 2019 case
On the night of 31 October 2019, a 17-year-old boy from Dihana village went missing from his home under mysterious circumstances. His family could not find any trace of him through the night. The next morning, his body was found hanging inside a haystack shed in the village, a discovery that left the entire area in shock. In his complaint to the police, the boy's father, Islam, alleged that certain people first had unnatural sexual relations with his son and then killed him. The complaint further alleged that after the murder, the body was strung up to make it look like a suicide. Based on the father's complaint and the preliminary probe, a case was registered at Sadar Nuh police station on 11 November 2019.
Evidence gathered during the investigation
After the case was registered, Nuh police began their investigation and collected the postmortem report, scientific evidence and other material proof. The findings led police to book the accused not only under the POCSO Act but also under Section 302 (murder) and Section 201 (destruction of evidence) of the Indian Penal Code. Once the probe was complete, police filed the chargesheet in court, after which the trial began.
Court hands down 20-year sentence
After a full trial in which witnesses recorded their statements, the court found that the evidence collected by police was sufficient to establish the accused's guilt. On this basis, the court convicted him and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of ₹45,000. It also made clear that if the convict fails to pay the fine within the stipulated time, he will have to undergo additional simple imprisonment. The verdict was delivered by Additional Sessions Judge Dr. Ashu Sanjeev Tinjan of the Fast Track Special POCSO Court.
