A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment for the rape and murder of his 16-year-old cousin in northern India, after staging her death as a suicide. The sentencing took place on Tuesday at a Pocso court in Mainpuri, where the court also imposed a fine of 100,000 rupees (£777).
Attack and cover-up
In May 2025, the victim, a year-11 student, left for school at around 7am from a village in Mainpuri. She was intercepted by her cousin and his brother-in-law under the pretence of a “friendly talk”. Instead, she was forced to a secluded place, brutally raped, and then strangled to death when she resisted, according to the Times of India.
In an attempt to stage the killing as suicide, the accused allegedly called his father, and the trio were accused of taking her body to a farm where her scarf was used to hang her from a fig tree.
Court ruling and acquittals
While the 25-year-old cousin has been imprisoned, his father and brother-in-law were acquitted on grounds of “insufficient evidence”, according to special public prosecutor Shailendri Rajput.
The court stated that the convict’s actions “were not just criminal but a deep assault on the moral fabric of society”. During the trial, Judge Jahendra Pal Singh said that “a simple life term would be insufficient given the gravity of the offence”. It was stated that “the life imprisonment shall extend for the convict’s entire natural lifespan, ensuring he does not walk free on the ground of remission”.
Investigation and wider context
Police registered a formal report following a complaint from the girl’s father. After investigation, all three were arrested and remained in judicial custody until the trial.
Despite government promises to tackle violence against women and girls in India, more than 30,000 cases of rape are recorded in the country every year. Campaigners believe the actual number is much higher, saying many cases go unreported due to societal stigma, as victims fear being blamed and shamed.
Convicts can be sentenced to the death penalty in severe cases after tougher anti-rape laws were introduced, following the gang rape of a 23-year-old physiotherapy student in 2012 in Delhi, who died from her injuries.
