A Madhya Pradesh court on Monday awarded death sentence to a man for raping and killing a three-and-a-half-year-old girl, saying his barbaric crime showed that he even lacked sensitivities found in animals, according to the prosecution officer.
According to police, death sentence has been awarded in 14 cases involving minor victims in Madhya Pradesh in 2018, the highest number of capital punishments in child rape cases secured in a year in any state.
Additional Session Judge of Gauharganj (Raisen district) Surekha Mishra convicted Jitendra Uike (24) here under IPC Sections 376 (A) (rape causing death) and 302 (murder) and sentenced him to death, prosecution officer Anil Kumar Tiwari said.
He was also found guilty under other IPC sections as well as those of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, he added.
Accordingt to Tiwari, while delivering the verdict, judge Mishra observed that "even animals don't behave in such a manner with those who love them, but the convict has committed barbaric crime with the daughter of his nearest relative, who gave him shelter in his home.
"His action shows that he not only lacks human feelings but also is not having sensitivities found in animals."