HC confirms capital punishment for killing 4-year-old boy in Gujrat

The Gujarat High Court Wednesday confirmed the death sentence awarded by a special POCSO court to a man for sodomising and killing a four-year-old boy in April 2016. A division bench of justices J B Pardiwala and A C Rao confirmed the capital punishment awarded to Shambhu Padhiyar by the special court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The trial court on April 26 last year had sentenced Padhiyar to death under Section 302 of the IPC (murder) and POCSO Act. Every death sentence has to be confirmed by the high court.

The incident had taken place at Piludara village in Jambusar tehsil of Bharuch district on April 16, 2016. The victim, son of a labourer, had gone missing that day and his naked body was found in bushes.

The police arrested Padhiyar, a resident of the same village. He confessed that he had abducted the boy from near his house.