The Belagavi District POCSO Court delivered a definitive statement against crimes targeting children on Friday, sentencing a 28-year-old man to death for the brutal 2019 rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl. The verdict was described by the court as a necessary response to a “barbaric” crime that “shocked the collective conscience of society.”
Bhartesh Ravasab Mirji, a resident of Paramanandawadi in Raibag taluk, was found guilty on all counts, including rape and murder under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and destruction of evidence.
The harrowing incident occurred on October 15, 2019. The young victim left her home around 5:30 pm to buy a chocolate near the Basavanna Devaru Temple. When she failed to return, her family initiated a frantic search.
Her father, the complainant, informed the Kudachi Police Station after confirming she had purchased the chocolate, but vanished shortly after. Police quickly launched a massive search operation, bringing in the Belagavi Dog Squad.
The investigation, led by PSI G.S. Uppar and his team, eventually zeroed in on Mirji. Evidence presented by Special Public Prosecutor L.V. Patil revealed a devastating sequence of events: Mirji lured the child to his house with the intent to sexually assault her. When the girl screamed, he brutally strangled her before tying a 20 kg stone to her body and dumping her into a well near his home in an attempt to destroy the evidence.
The prosecution presented a watertight case, involving testimonies from 20 witnesses, 106 documents, and 22 material objects.
Judge C.M. Pushpalata ruled that the charges were proven beyond a reasonable doubt. She imposed the maximum penalty, the death sentence, citing the extreme depravity and cruelty demonstrated by the convicted man.
In addition to the sentence, the court also ordered a significant move toward restorative justice, directing the District Legal Services Authority to provide Rs. 10 lakh in compensation to the girl’s grieving parents.