Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Guwahati: A court in Bilasipara, Assam, sentenced Utpal Roy to death for the rape and murder of a four-year-old girl. The girl vanished from her home in September 2023. Police searched for three days. They found her body hidden inside the Krishnakali Tea Estate in Chapar using a sniffer dog.
Authorities recovered the remains while a magistrate and a forensic team watched. Investigators built the case after the victim's family filed a complaint. Chapar Police registered case number 179/23. Roy faced charges under sections 363(A), 376, 302, and 201 of the Indian Penal Code, plus Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
The prosecution argued Roy lured the child into the garden to rape her. He killed her to hide the crime. Government advocate Tapan Bhatt led the prosecution. Officers Arpana Talukdar and Ranjit Kakati managed the investigation before Deepjyoti Ingti filed the chargesheet. The court convicted Roy under the POCSO Act. The verdict arrives nearly three years after the tragedy. As the judge delivered the sentence, official records show the court found sufficient evidence to justify the ultimate punishment for a crime described in legal filings as a case involving the "rape and murder of a minor."
Updated at 15th September 2026 at 5:49pm
Special Judge Rana Dutta handed down the sentence on Monday. The court labeled the crime rarest of rare, citing the gravity of the act as justification for the capital punishment. Beyond the death sentence, the judge hit Roy with additional fines and prison time under the remaining IPC and POCSO counts.
Roy will not face the gallows immediately. His execution remains subject to mandatory confirmation by the High Court.
Updated at 15th September 2026 at 10:00pm
Records indicate Roy was arrested in March 2024. Beyond the death penalty, the court tacked on a life sentence for rape with a 10,000 rupee fine. He also received five years in prison and a 4,000 rupee fine for destroying evidence and providing false information. For the aggravated sexual assault charge, the judge tacked on another 20 years and a 50,000 rupee fine. The judge ordered all prison terms to run concurrently.
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