The bench was seized of a criminal appeal challenging the July 6, 2020 verdict of the trial court awarding death sentence. The trial court had premised its judgment on the testimonies of the victim’s mother and two witnesses, who had seen the appellant entering and exiting the victim’s house at the relevant time.
The trial court had also relied upon the medical evidence stating that the victim suffered injuries on her body and private parts due to sexual violence and even an injury on her head due to a blunt object like an iron rod.
As per the prosecution case, the appellant had on May 30, 2019, entered the victim’s house at evening time, when she was alone. He raped her and then killed her by strangulating her with a gamcha (cloth) and hitting her on the head with an iron rod. The incident came to light when her mother, who worked as a domestic help, returned and saw the victim lying on bed in a vegetative state.
Source: Barandbench
