Bahraich (UP), Apr 10 (PTI) A special court here on Thursday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping and killing a five-year-old girl in 2020.

The special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act also imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 on convict Mohammad Raees, Special District Government Counsel Sant Pratap Singh said.

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The victim was sleeping with her parents in an area under Dargah Sharif police station when she went missing on the night of February 22, 2020. Her body was found in a sack the following morning, bearing multiple stab wounds, Singh said.

Following a complaint by the girl's father, police registered a case against an unknown person. The investigation later found the involvement of Raees and he was subsequently arrested.

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A charge sheet was filed against him on March 8, 2020, under various sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act, the district government counsel said.

"Special Additional Sessions Judge (POCSO) Deep Kant Mani pronounced the sentence, ordering Mohammad Raees to serve life imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 60,000. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional three months of imprisonment," said Singh.

The court further directed that the entire fine amount be provided as compensation to the victim's mother, the government counsel said.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)