Shimla, Jun 18
Session and CBI court Shimla today sentenced life imprisonment for the Gudiya case accused Anil Kumar alias Nillu while pronouncing the quantum of sentences to him today. He was convicted on April 28, this year. Session Judge Shimla Rajeev Bhardwaj has sentenced the 28yrs old accused in the rape and murder of the 16 year minor from Kotkhai area of Shimla district.
It is worthwhile to mention here that CBI special Judge held Guidya rape and murder case accused guilty in all the four accounts. The accused Anil Kumar alias Nillu alias Charani has been held guilty under sections 376 (2)(i), 376 (A), and 302 of the Indian Penal Code and section 4 of the POCSO Act .
The convict was held guilty on the concrete or most important testimony i.e matching of his DNA with samples found on the crime spot. The verdict said that the motive for the crime was committed in a spur of the moment, with Nillu making up his mind to rape and kill the victim when he encountered her on a passage in the forest while she was walking from school to home.
On the afternoon of July 4, 2017, a 16-year-old Class 10 student in Shimla’s Kotkhai area left her school but never reached home. Due to ongoing sports tournament, her brother and other schoolmates who usually accompanied her, stayed back at school and so she decided to walk to her house alone – a 1.5-hour journey on foot, which included hike through a forest.
Two days later, her body was found in a ditch in the forest, with her clothes, an empty liquor bottle, and some other items scattered around her. An autopsy indicated that she died due to the cumulative effect of “homicidal smothering and manual strangulation in a case of recent forcible penetrative sexual assault”. In layman’s language, she was raped and murdered.
The incident triggered massive protests and uproar in Kotkhai, Shimla and other parts of the hill state where crimes of such nature are rare.
Two days later, her body was found in a ditch in the forest, with her clothes, an empty liquor bottle, and some other items scattered around her. An autopsy indicated that she died due to the cumulative effect of “homicidal smothering and manual strangulation in a case of recent forcible penetrative sexual assault”. In layman’s language, she was raped and murdered.
The incident triggered massive protests and uproar in Kotkhai, Shimla and other parts of the hill state where crimes of such nature are rare.
Later after a probe, the CBI’s chargesheet blamed the accused. It said that on the day of the crime, Nillu consumed liquor in the afternoon and met the victim on a deserted path while she was on her way home. He first had an altercation with her, following which he caught and dragged her into the forest adjoining the path, where he raped, smothered and strangled her.
He left the spot, but returned sometime later after purchasing liquor from someone’s house around 800 metres away, believes the CBI. While leaving, he left behind the empty liquor bottle at the crime scene, which according to the CBI has been identified by the seller.
Several people who saw him in the area before and after the crime or sold liquor to him on the day of the crime have identified him, said the charge sheet.
He left the spot, but returned sometime later after purchasing liquor from someone’s house around 800 metres away, believes the CBI. While leaving, he left behind the empty liquor bottle at the crime scene, which according to the CBI has been identified by the seller.
Several people who saw him in the area before and after the crime or sold liquor to him on the day of the crime have identified him, said the charge sheet.
Other witnesses include a widow whom he allegedly sexually assaulted a-day-and-a-half after the murder. He also allegedly tried to steal someone’s clothes and molested another woman before leaving the area a few days later, the charge sheet said.
Around 55 prosecution witnesses deposed during the trial in a special court in Shimla.
