High Court Upholds Death Sentence for Ranchi Rape-Murder Convict

The Jharkhand High Court confirmed the death penalty for Rahul Raj, convicted of raping and murdering a student in Ranchi in 2016. The crime, considered brutal and gruesome, involved rape, strangulation, and setting the victim on fire. Raj was also implicated in a similar crime in Patna.

The Jharkhand High Court on Monday confirmed the death sentence of a man convicted for the rape and murder of a student in Ranchi in 2016.

A division bench of Justices Ananda Sen and Gautam Kumar Chaudhary heard the criminal appeal filed by Rahul Raj, who challenged his death sentence.

Raj was sentenced by an additional district judge in Ranchi on December 20, 2019. The court highlighted the brutal and gruesome manner in which he committed the crime, asserting that only capital punishment was appropriate.

The crime took place on December 15, 2016, when the victim returned home from college. Raj entered her house around 4 am, raped her, strangled her with an iron wire, and then set her body on fire after applying a lubricant.

The police conducted an intensive manhunt and arrested Raj, who later confessed to the crime. It was later revealed that Raj had also been involved in a similar rape incident involving a minor girl in Patna.

(With inputs from agencies.)