SC stays death sentence of Samivel who sexually assaulted and murdered 7-year old Dalit girl in TN

New Delhi, Dec 09: The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the death penalty of a flower vendor who was accused of raping and murdering a juvenile in Tamil Nadu's Pudukkottai in 2020. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud, Justice P S Narasimha and J B Pardiwala sought a response from the Tamil Nadu government on the issue. Reports said that the convict was represented by senior advocate Aditya Sindhi.

The appellant named M Samivel alias Raja was convicted in 2020 for the rape and murder of a 7 year old Dalit girl. She was killed after a penetrative sexual assault. Prior to the incident, Samuel had established an acquaintance with her. Fearing that she may tell someone about the crime, the accused smashed her heard against a tree and dumped her body in a dry pond.

The examination of her found that she had injuries on her head, face, neck and chest. Multiple abrasions were also found on her abdomen, thighs and private parts. He had also beaten her with a stick before smashing her head. The innocent victim was a student of Class II.

The accused was sentenced to death after being found guilty by the trial court. The same was affirmed by the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court. The Bench comprising Justices S Vaidyanathan and G Jayachandran observed that some like the accused if allowed to thrive in the world would contaminate the brains of the co-prisoners who are on the verge of release. The court rejected the contention about a delay in filing a first information report while reasoning that it was natural to hunt for a missing person in all possible locations and only after determining that the missing person cannot be found the police would consider filing a complaint.

The seven year old Dalit girls parents in 2020 filed a complaint after they could not find their daughter for a day. The police later found the girl in a deserted location near her village. The police also learnt that the girl was sexually abused and killed by M Ssamivel who also hails from the same village. He was arrested on July 2 2020 and during interrogation, he confessed to the crime. The police also found his clothes to be stained with the blood of the girl.

The police booked him under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and also the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2018.