RAIPUR: In the first death sentence handed down in Chhattisgarh in 36 years, a Raipur court sent a historysheeter to the gallows for the brutal murder of a four-year-old, reports Partha Behera.
Two years ago, convict Panchram Gendre had wrapped the child in a petrol-soaked towel and set him on fire in a gruesome act of revenge after the boy’s mother spurned his illicit advances. It’s a case the court termed “rarest of the rare”. “Showing leniency will embolden criminals and undermine the judiciary’s role in upholding justice. The convict should be hanged until death, considering his lack of remorse and the heinous nature of the crime,” the seventh sessions court judge said.
According to prosecution, Panchram was infatuated with the child’s mother but she warned him to stay away from her. Furious at being rejected, he had decided to kill both her children – boys, aged five and four. The elder child had returned home but Panchram took Harsh to a secluded spot and set him on fire.