Chhattisgarh man gets death penalty for killing girl

A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court in Durg, Chhattisgarh, has sentenced 24-year-old Somesh Yadav to death for raping and murdering a six-year-old girl. The court described the crime as falling under the “rarest of rare” category.

Yadav was convicted on Thursday under Section 6(1) of the POCSO Act and Section 103(1) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), relating to aggravated penetrative sexual assault and murder. He was also fined ₹5,000 under each of these sections.

The court additionally sentenced him to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a ₹1,000 fine under Section 238(a) of the BNS for causing the disappearance of evidence or providing false information. The sentences will run concurrently.

The court has also directed that ₹7 lakh be paid to the victim’s family under the state government’s victim compensation scheme.

The case dates back to April 2025, when the six-year-old girl was reported missing. She was later found inside a vehicle in Durg and was taken to a hospital, where she was declared dead.

Investigators relied on several forms of evidence against Yadav, including physical and biological evidence, CCTV footage and circumstantial evidence. A Special Investigation Team was constituted to investigate the case.

The court’s decision comes against the backdrop of the Supreme Court’s established position that the death penalty should be imposed only in the “rarest of rare” cases. While upholding the constitutional validity of capital punishment, the Supreme Court has held that courts must provide special reasons when awarding a death sentence.

The prosecution’s case was supported by the combination of forensic evidence and CCTV footage, which played an important role in establishing the circumstances surrounding the crime.

The sentencing has once again highlighted the strict legal protections available to children under the POCSO Act, particularly in cases involving aggravated sexual offences and murder.

The death sentence will remain subject to the applicable legal process, including judicial scrutiny and the convict’s available avenues of appeal.