Cuttack: A POCSO court Wednesday convicted accused Mohammed Mustafa in the sensational Salepur minor rape and attempt to murder case.
Based on the evidence and the witnesses produced, the court held accused guilty. That said, the quantum of punishment will be pronounced Thursday, a source informed.
It may be mentioned here that Mustafa had raped a six-year-old girl near a school at a village under Salepur police limits April 21, 2018 while she had been to a shop. In an attempt to eliminate the evidence, he had also tried to strangulate the little girl and had left her to die.
After a frantic search, locals rescued her in a critical condition with injuries on her head, face, chest and private parts from the school late that evening and admitted her to the local healthcare center. She was later referred to SCB Medical College and Hospital in Cuttack where she succumbed to the injuries after battling for nine days April 29 last.
The locals were deeply aggrieved over the incident and had staged road blockades demanding strong action against the culprit at that time following which the probe was handed over to the Crime Branch from police.
The Crime Branch had designated it as a ‘Red Flag’ case and was leading the probe. It later arrested the accused Mustafa under sections 376, 307, I (M) of IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.