Cuttack: The Odisha High Court has commuted the death sentence awarded to two men, accused of rape and murder of a six-year-old girl.
While the death sentence awarded to Sk Asif Ali, was commuted to life imprisonment, the other convict, Sk Akil Ali was acquitted. Commuting Sk Asif Ali's death sentence, the high court noted that the accused "is offering prayers many times in a day and is ready to accept punishment as he has surrendered before God."
Pocso Court in Jagatsinghpur had convicted Sk Asif Ali (37) and Sk Akil Ali (38) on November 21, 2022. They were sentenced to life imprisonment on the same day.
The incident occurred at a village under Tirtol police station in Jagatsinghpur district on August 21, 2014. The girl was kidnapped while she was returning home from school after buying chocolates from a shop. The victim was raped in an abandoned house near the village and later murdered.
Considering the state government's plea for confirmation of the trial court’s death sentence and the appeals filed by the two convicts, the high court set aside the conviction of Sk Akil Ali and acquitted him of the charges of rape and murder. The court held that the circumstantial evidence against him was difficult to sustain his conviction.
