A CBI court on Saturday awarded the death penalty to a man who had raped an engineering student and later burnt her to death in Jharkhand's capital Ranchi in 2016. The case had registered the next day and was later handed over to the Jharkhand CID. The crime came to light when the victim’s sister, who was in the family home in Ramgarh district, failed to get through to her over the phone.
The CBI, during its investigation, found that the accused was a habitual offender and had been in Lucknow jail in connection with another rape. Further investigation revealed that Raj, 23, was absconding and had a criminal past.
Reports said that police reached Raj’s village and took blood samples of his parents. The DNA test revealed a match with the samples lifted off the victim. The CBI filed the charge sheet on September 13, 2019, and the court framed the charges on October 25. Raj, an auto-rickshaw driver, had come to Ranchi in 2016. He had reportedly been keeping an eye on the victim for a while before attacking her.
