A court in Uttar Pradesh’s Firozabad on Friday sentenced a 28-year-old trader to death for the murder of an 18-month-old boy, just 40 days after the crime was committed. The court held that the case fell within the “rarest of rare” category, warranting capital punishment. The convict, identified as Jitendra Pathak alias Viraj, had been found guilty of murder a day earlier.
According to the prosecution, Pathak killed the toddler after the child’s mother rejected his marriage proposal. The crime took place in May and caused widespread shock after a disturbing video showed the accused repeatedly slamming the child onto the ground. The toddler was allegedly struck against the ground eight times, resulting in his death.
The impact of the assault was reportedly so loud that nearby residents initially mistook the sounds for cement bags being unloaded. The video of the incident later emerged and drew widespread attention to the brutality of the crime. Police launched an investigation and Pathak was subsequently arrested in May following an encounter.
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The trial proceeded rapidly, with the court convicting Pathak of murder on Thursday before announcing the sentence on Friday. Rajeev Kumar Upadhyay, the District Government Counsel in Firozabad, said the court found that the circumstances of the crime placed it within the “rarest of rare” category and therefore imposed the death penalty.
Under Indian law, the death penalty is reserved for exceptional cases where courts determine that the circumstances meet the “rarest of rare” standard. In this case, the prosecution relied on evidence surrounding the killing, including the alleged motive and the manner in which the toddler was attacked, while seeking the maximum punishment for the accused.
The sentencing came 40 days after the toddler’s murder, marking a swift conclusion to the trial at the lower court level. The case had drawn significant attention in Firozabad because of the age of the victim and the brutality captured in the video. Further legal proceedings may follow in accordance with the procedures governing death sentences in India.
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