A fast-track special court in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district has sentenced a 24-year-old man to death for raping and murdering his six-year-old niece, calling the case one of the “rarest of rare” cases.

Additional Sessions Judge Anish Dubey convicted Somesh Yadav under the relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), sentencing him to death by hanging.

The crime took place in April 2025 when the six-year-old girl had gone to her grandmother’s house in Om Nagar, Urla, for the ‘kanya pujan’ ritual during Chaitra Navratari. When she failed to return home by evening, her family began searching for her and later lodged a missing person report at Mohan Nagar Police Station.

The girl’s body was subsequently discovered inside the trunk of a car parked nearby. Police found scratch marks on her face and blood on her lips.

Forensic and DNA evidence established that the child had been sexually assaulted by Yadav, her paternal uncle. According to the forensic report, she suffered cardiac arrest due to extreme physical pain and trauma during the assault.

After the crime, Yadav allegedly poured toilet cleaner on the child’s private parts in an attempt to remove blood stains and destroy evidence. He also hid her body in a neighbour’s car to mislead the police and conceal the crime.

Relying on witness statements along with forensic and other scientific evidence, the court found Yadav guilty and awarded him the death penalty, concluding that the offence fell within the “rarest of rare” category.

The fast-track court completed the trial and delivered the verdict within 17 months of the crime.