A local court on Thursday awarded capital punishment to a 36-year-old man for raping and murdering his six-year-old daughter four years ago. Convict Partap Singh of Lakhuwal village in Baba Bakala subdivision was also fined ₹1.5 lakh by the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) fast-track court.

Additional district and sessions judge Triptjot Kaur disagreed with the arguments of defence counsel Amandeep Singh Bajwa while awarding the punishment.

The convict committed the crime on the intervening night of January 4 and 5, 2020. He was booked under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code and 6 of the POCSO Act on January 5 on the complaint of his wife.

The victim was the eldest among three siblings. Owing to some dispute with him, his wife had been living at her parental house along with her children. The convict routinely used to take the victim along with him and drop her to his wife. On January 4, he again brought her along with him forcibly, but did not take her back in the evening.

That night, he raped and murdered her and then hung the body on a tree on the bank of the canal in the vicinity of Rayya town. Under the influence of drugs, he kept on roaming around. In the morning, he informed his wife about his act and dared her to take action against him.

On the complaint of his wife Ramanjit Kaur, a case was registered on January 5, 2020 at the Khilchian police station. The medical report had made it clear that the victim had been raped.

Advocate Bajwa said, “Under Section 302 of the IPC, the guilty has been awarded death sentence and fined of ₹1 lakh while he got life sentence and ₹50,000 under Section 6 of the POCSO Act.” Both the punishments will go simultaneously, according to information.