In a startling revelation, the rapist and murderer Irfan Khan, who allegedly raped a four-year-old girl to death in Magadi in Ramanagara district on July 20, has a history of rape earlier.
The police investigation revealed that the accused, arrested under the POCSO Act, went to jail earlier and was released by court due to a lack of evidence.
In the year 2014, Irfan allegedly raped a relative’s 12-year-old daughter at Kumbalgodu police station limits 20 kilometres from Bengaluru. According to the Kumbalgodu police station, officers the police registered a case based on the victim’s family’s complaint under IPC section 376 (rape) and POCSO. They arrested him and submitted a charge sheet to the court.
The case was heard in the court till 2021. The accused was acquitted in the case as the victim girl did not appear in the court to testify. The police said that if he had been punished when he committed the first act, the life of the 4-year-old child of Magadi would have been spared.
The accused, who was committing petty crimes including theft, is married and has children, which he told during the inquiry. His family may have thrown him out of the house after noticing his criminal activities, and further investigation is being conducted into his background, said Magadi Sub Division DYSP K M Praveen Kumar.
“Local legislators should propose the action in the assembly session. A law should be brought to punish those who commit atrocities on children by hanging,” a resident near the house of the victim told reporters. By that, a strong message should be given to the society.
A low-income family who has lost their beloved child is in deep grief. Among the three girls, the murdered child used to go to Anganwadi. The father works as a driver, and the mother is a housewife. The victim’s father told the Organiser that the distant relative used to visit their house once every six months or twice. We never imagined he could do such a heinous crime to our daughter. We did not know he had raped a 12-year-old relative girl in Kumbalagodu earlier. He added that the culprits should be hanged for committing crimes, its crimes.
Various pro-people organisations, including pro-Kannada organisations, staged severe protests in front of the Magadi police station, demanding capital punishment for the criminal.
