Pune: The state prosecution, in support of its rarest-of-rare case submission seeking death sentence for the Nasrapur rape-murder convict, cited the tender age (three years) of the victim and the kind of brutality she was subject to by the accused during the 39-minute course of the crime.Special public prosecutor Ajay Misar told TOI, “We cited the postmortem report, which showed 18 injury marks, and explained the same with apt evidence. The victim was not only raped but subjected to unnatural offences, including anal penetration. The forensic experts found semen and saliva of the accused on her body,” he said, adding, “The accused assaulted the victim even after she had died.”Misar said the court also upheld the CCTV footage produced in support of the case besides the DNA profiling report and medical evidence, including the state of (mental) soundness, potency and sexual capabilities of the accused. “All this evidence has been accepted by the court,” the prosecutor said.The prosecution also presented the accused’s criminal history, including sexual assaults on a 65-year-old woman, a 17-year-old girl and even an animal. “Given his past conduct, we argued that he is beyond reform and poses a continuing threat to society, and therefore has no right to live,” Misar said.Kept our promise: Pune Rural SPSuperintendent of police (Pune Rural) Sandeep Singh Gill said law enforcement had fulfilled its promise of ensuring swift justice. Following Nasrapur the crime on May 1, residents had blocked the Pune-Bengaluru highway in protest. “We assured them of a speedy trial and justice, and we have delivered on that promise,” Gill said.On May 2, the crime was registered and a 15-member SIT was formed. “And in the natural course of investigations, we collected evidence and the witness statements of the three boys, aged 10 and 11 years, proved crucial in the case,” Gill said, adding, “There were no eyewitnesses in the case but CCTV footage from different parts of the village and the witness statements of the boys proved crucial.”Fifty-five witness statements were produced in the court and a 1,200-page chargesheet was submitted in the case. “This is the first case where a panchnama report of seizure of the accused’s bag and other belongings from Nasrapur village was done online as physically taking him to the village then posed a threat to the life of the accused,” he said.
