'Barbarity': Madhya Pradesh HC confirms death penalty for child rape, murder

‘The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently confirmed the death sentence awarded by a Bhopal court to aman who was last year found guilty of having sexually assaulted a5-year-old girl and causing her fatal injuries [Atul Nihale v The State of Madhya Pradesh].

- TDG NETWORK

‘The victim had died because of the injuries in her pelvic region, caused by a knife inserted by the convict. The police had recovered her dead body froma white tank kept in a bathroom at a flat belonging to the convict’s family.

In March 2025, a Special Judge hearing cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act gave a triple death sentence to the convict, Atul Nihale, for three separate charges of brutal rape and murder of the minor girl. He then challenged the decision before the High Court.

On January 22, Justice Vivek Agarwal and Justice Ramkumar Choubey, sitting at the Jabalpur Bench of the High Court, observed that every ounce of evidence against Nihale reflected his barbarity.

“This Court found that the appellant/accused has committed a heinous crime with a girl age of five years, who was unable to resist and after gagging her mouth, appellant/accused used a knife meant for culinary tasks, for enlarging the entrance of vagina, so as to penetrate. He caused as many as 10 injuries including penetration in the pelvic region, a very cause of death,” the Bench said.