Punjab court sentences man to death for raping, killing 6-year-old

Chandigarh : A court in Punjab on Wednesday sentenced a man to death for the rape and murder of a six-year-old girl two years back.

The death sentence was pronounced in the Additional District and Sessions Judge Jaspal Verma in Mansa town, around 240 km from here.

Describing the case as "rarest of rare", the court held accused Kala Ram guilty of abduction, rape and murder of the minor girl in May 2016. The court described the crime as a "barbaric act".

The accused, a daily wage earner, was a distant relative of the victim and had come to her village in Mansa district from neighbouring Haryana to attend a marriage function.

He took her to a canal nearby where he raped her and strangulated her to death.