Kerala High Court confirms death for rape-murder

Kochi: The High Court on Wednesday confirmed the death penalty awarded to Abdul Nassar by the Manjeri Sessions Court in the case connected
with the rape and then murder of a nine-year-old girl. Upholding the lower court order that the crime is one of the ‘rarest of the rare’ the HC stated that the convict deserved no clemency. The incident that shocked the region took place in April 2012. The nine-year-old girl, a friend and classmate of the daughter of the
accused, went to residence of Nassar to meet his daughter. The girl then failed to return home leading to her family members mounting a search for the missing girl. They also approached the police and the body of the girl, a class IV student, was found in a bathroom on the residential premise of Nassar.

After the heinous act, the culprit had strangulated the little girl on the apprehension that she will speak about the incident. According to the case registered by the Nilambur police, the accused then tried to conceal the body before the investigation team unraveled the crime. The district and sessions judge of Manjeri had awarded capital punishment to then 45-year-old Nassar of Nellikkuthu describing the incident as one of the rarest of the rare cases in 2013. The convicted has approached the HC seeking clemency.