A special POCSO court in Uttar Pradesh's Meerut has awarded death sentence to a 35-year-old man for the rape and murder of a four-year-old, terming the case as 'rarest of rare'.

"Such a crime is not only a violation of law, human and social relations, but also destroys the social structure. The person committing such a crime deserves maximum punishment," the court said in its order on Wednesday.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.2 lakh on the accused which would be paid to the victim's family."Dhruv Rai, special judge (POCSO), has ordered that the accused be hanged till death under IPC section 302 and section 6 of POCSO Act with a fine of Rs 1 lakh; seven-year imprisonment under section IPC 201 with Rs 20,000 penalty," said additional district government counsel Bharat Sharma.

The four-year-old girl was raped and murdered in the Jahagirabad area of Bulandshahr in April this year.SSP Bulandshahr Shlok Kumar said Mohd Faheem had lured the minor girl to his house while she was playing outside her home, and raped her and strangulated her to death.

"When the girl went missing from the house while playing, her family members informed the police. When the cops reached the spot, the neighbours informed them that they saw the girl with Faheem, who lives in their neighbourhood. Later in the evening, the girl's body was recovered from Faheem's house. He had hidden the body, which had multiple bite marks all over, under a bed," the SSP added.

According to police, the accused was arrested the same night and the post mortem report confirmed the girl was raped and murdered."The accused has been lodged in jail since his arrest in April," SSP said. (IANS/PG)