Mumbai, February 28: A POCSO court in Mumbai recently sentenced a transgender person to death for kidnapping, raping and murdering a girl child in the city. The POCSO court on Tuesday, February 27, awarded the punishment to the accused for killing a three-month-old girl in Cuffe Parade in 2021. The court also said that the "barbaric and inhuman" way the offence was committed has made it a "rarest of rare case".

Aditee Kadam, Special judge of the POCSO court, said that a life sentence is a rule, and a death sentence is an exception, which is only to be awarded in the rarest of rare cases, reports the Hindustan Times. "The accused had planned in advance to commit the crime and executed it in a meticulous manner," the judge added and called the incident a "cold-blooded murder". Mumbai Shocker: Employee of Posh Bandra Club Arrested for Allegedly Molesting Minor Boy; ‘Did Not Find Any Evidence of Sexual Assault’, Says Management.

The police investigation revealed that the accused approached the family of the girl child for a gift after the girl was born. However, the family declined to give anything to the transgender person. This led to the accused developing a grudge against the family. Later, the accused kidnapped the infant, raped her and later drowned her in a nearby creek.

The next day, the child's body was found by a witness who said that he found the body when he went fishing at Sassoon Dock at around 2 am. In her testimony, the deceased girl's mother said that the accused had threatened them that he would do something in five days which would make him famous. The accused's lawyer told the court that his client had no criminal antecedents. Mumbai Shocker: Three Nurses Tape Baby’s Mouth to Prevent It From Crying at BMC Hospital, Booked.

The lawyer also said that the transgender person lived off donations made by people.  The judge, however, said that the crime would send a chill down the spine of every parent of a girl child. The infant's father said that the trial progressed quickly. He also said that they were satisfied with the court's decision. "Justice has been delivered," he stated.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 28, 2024 05:20 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).