Delhi police push for death penalty for Shahbad Dairy murder accused

The Delhi Police on Thursday said that they are seeking capital punishment for the accused in the murder of 16-year-old girl in Shahbad Dairy area.

The murder was well-planned, the police said, adding that they have put together a watertight case to ensure the accused gets death.

“This was a case of well-planned murder which was carried out in revenge. We have all the evidence and within a month of incident we have submitted the charge sheet to get justice for the family of the victim,” Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Dependra Pathak said. “We carried out the investigation with a professional and focused approach in the Sakshi murder case and filed a charge sheet before the court in record time. We have tried to make the case as watertight as possible so that the accused gets the harshest punishment which is death sentence,” he added.

A month after the brutal murder of a 16-year-old girl at Shahbad Dairy, the Delhi police filed the chargesheet against the accused, Sahil, on Tuesday. The charge sheet, consisting of 640 pages, was presented before a POCSO court.

The charges include section 12 of POCSO (punishment for committing sexual harassment upon a child) and sections of the Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, according to court sources.

The accused, Sahil, has also been charged under IPC sections 302 (murder), 354 A (punishment for sexual harassment), and 509 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), in addition to provisions of the Arms Act.

The heinous act was captured on CCTV footage, which depicted the man repeatedly stabbing the girl approximately 20 times in broad daylight. Shockingly, numerous passersby witnessed the incident but failed to intervene and save her life.

According to the police, the victim had 34 injury marks on her body, and her skull was shattered. The charge sheet is expected to be acknowledged by the special POCSO court on July 1.