Ankleshwar court sentences man to death for sexual assault, murder of 10-year-old in Jhagadia
In a landmark verdict, a court in Ankleshwar has sentenced Vijay Paswan to death for the abduction, rape, and murder of a 10-year-old girl, marking the first such death penalty handed down for a crime of this nature in the district. The court also directed that the victim’s family be compensated with ₹10 lakh.The case was fast-tracked and concluded in just 72 days, with Additional and District Sessions Judge SD Pandey presiding over the trial. District Government Lawyer and Special Public Prosecutor PB Pandya, who represented the state pro bono, played a key role in securing the conviction.Prosecutors told the court that Paswan had kidnapped the child, the daughter of labourers from Jharkhand working in a Jhagadia GIDC factory, on December 24. The subsequent sexual assault, during which Paswan is believed to have inserted a rod into her, eventually resulted in her death. Doctors found more than 30 injuries on her body during the post-mortem.The child identified her assailant as “Buddha” to paramedics rushing her to emergency care at the SSG hospital in Vadodara. This crucial piece of information enabled the police to quickly identify and apprehend Paswan within hours. Forensic evidence—including the child’s blood on his underwear—was submitted as proof of his guilt. The postmortem report revealed the sheer brutality of the assault, documenting over 30 serious injuries inflicted upon the young victim’s body. Medical examiners determined that she endured torture both before and after the sexual assault, leaving her with injuries that proved fatal.
In a landmark verdict, a court in Ankleshwar has sentenced Vijay Paswan to death for the abduction, rape, and murder of a 10-year-old girl, marking the first such death penalty handed down for a crime of this nature in the district. The court also directed that the victim’s family be compensated with ₹10 lakh.
The case was fast-tracked and concluded in just 72 days, with Additional and District Sessions Judge SD Pandey presiding over the trial. District Government Lawyer and Special Public Prosecutor PB Pandya, who represented the state pro bono, played a key role in securing the conviction.
Prosecutors told the court that Paswan had kidnapped the child, the daughter of labourers from Jharkhand working in a Jhagadia GIDC factory, on December 24. The subsequent sexual assault, during which Paswan is believed to have inserted a rod into her, eventually resulted in her death. Doctors found more than 30 injuries on her body during the post-mortem.
The child identified her assailant as “Buddha” to paramedics rushing her to emergency care at the SSG hospital in Vadodara. This crucial piece of information enabled the police to quickly identify and apprehend Paswan within hours. Forensic evidence—including the child’s blood on his underwear—was submitted as proof of his guilt.
The postmortem report revealed the sheer brutality of the assault, documenting over 30 serious injuries inflicted upon the young victim’s body. Medical examiners determined that she endured torture both before and after the sexual assault, leaving her with injuries that proved fatal.
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