Shahbad Dairy murder: Police to seek death sentence for accused

New Delhi, June 29 (IANS) Emphasising their demand for death penalty for the accused in the brutal murder of a teenage girl in the Shahbad Dairy area in May, Delhi Police said on Thursday that the murder of Sakshi (16) by Mohammad Sahil Khan (20) was premeditated.  

The Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Dependra Pathak, said that the investigation into the Sakshi murder case was conducted with a professional and focused approach, leading to the submission of a charge sheet to the court in a remarkably short time.

“We have built a watertight case to ensure the harshest possible punishment -- death penalty -- for the accused. The murder was meticulously planned and carried out as an act of revenge. We possess substantial evidence, and within a month of the incident, we have presented the charge sheet to seek justice for the victim's family,” Pathak said.

Delhi Police have filed a charge sheet before the court against Sahil, who repeatedly stabbed Sakshi before bludgeoning the minor girl to death in full public view on May 28.

Filed before a metropolitan magistrate’s court, the charge sheet runs into 640 pages and invokes charges under Sections 302 (murder), 354 A (punishment for sexual harassment) and 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), sources said.

Besides the above Sections, the accused has also been charged under the Arms Act, Section 12 of POCSO (punishment for committing sexual harassment upon a child) and different Sections of the Scheduled Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The court is likely to take cognisance of the charge sheet on July 1.

The police arrested Sahil, who worked as a fridge-AC repairing mechanic, from Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh.

CCTV footage of the incident had gone viral on social media. In the footage, Sahil could be seen repeatedly stabbing a hapless Sakshi even as seven to eight bystanders stood by without making any effort to rescue the girl.

"The deceased was on her way to attend the birthday of her friend's son when Sahil intercepted her and brutally killed her," the police had said.