3 persons get life imprisonment for 7-yr-old girl's rape-murder in Chhattisgarh
Baloda Bazar (PTI): A fast track court in Chhattisgarh's Baloda Bazar district has sentenced a man, his mother and another person to life imprisonment in connection with a case of rape and murder of a 7-year-old girl in 2021.
The man accused of raping the girl was 17 years' old at the time of the incident.
Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fast Track Special Court (POCSO), Prashant Parashar passed the order on January 29 and a copy of it was made available on Wednesday.
The judge convicted the three persons under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, public prosecutor Sameer Agrawal said.
According to the prosecution, the victim, resident of a village under Baloda Bazar City Kotwali police station area, was playing at the house of her neighbour on May 25, 2021 when the accused man, then a juvenile, took her along with him and raped her, he said.
The accused, with help of his mother, strangled the girl to death and dumped the body in a well with the support of another accused person, he said.
Next day, the girl's body was recovered following which the police registered a case and launched a probe into it, he said.
After an investigation, the three persons were arrested and booked under IPC sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape) and 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence), as well as provisions of the POCSO Act and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, the prosecutor said.
The police filed a charge sheet in the case on September 1, 2021 and statements of 29 witnesses were recorded, he said.
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India describes attack on Fujairah 'unacceptable'
New Delhi (PTI): India on Tuesday described the wounding of three Indians in an attack on the United Arab Emirates' port city of Fujairah as "unacceptable" and pressed for an immediate cessation of hostilities targeting innocent civilians.
New Delhi's reaction came a day after the Indians were injured after a drone attack caused a fire at a major oil industry zone in Fujairah. The UAE had accused Iran of carrying out the strike.
"The attack on Fujairah that resulted in injury to three Indian nationals is unacceptable," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said.
"We call for immediate cessation of these hostilities and the targeting of civilian infrastructure and innocent civilians," the spokesperson said.
Jaiswal said India continued to stand for dialogue and diplomacy to deal with the situation so that peace and stability could be restored across West Asia.
"We also call for free and unimpeded navigation and commerce through the Strait of Hormuz in keeping with international law. India stands ready to support all efforts for a peaceful resolution of issues," he said.
The attack on Fujairah city came as the ceasefire between the US and Iran came under strain in the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and gas pass, remains a major sticking point in the talks. Shipping through the narrow Gulf waterway has been severely disrupted by the conflict, triggering a sharp increase in oil prices and energy shortages in several countries.
The UAE's defence ministry on Monday said its air defence systems engaged 12 ballistic missiles, three cruise missiles and four drones launched from Iran.
The ministry affirmed that it "remains fully prepared and ready to deal with any threats and will firmly confront anything that aims to undermine the security of the country."
