Mothers have blind love for ‘raja betas’ who can be villainous, says HC, gives 30-year jail to man in rape, murder case

The Punjab and Haryana High Court handed out a 30-year jail term to a man for the rape and murder of a minor girl in 2018 and made a factual observation saying that mothers in India treat their “precious sons as raja betas” no matter how “imperfect or villainous” they might be. A bench of Justices Anoop Chitkara and Sukhvinder Kaur made the observation while hearing the appeal of a mother-son duo convicted for the rape and murder of a five-year-old minor girl. “Unfortunately, in this part of India, family members, especially mothers, often have such blind love for their ‘precious’ sons that, no matter how imperfect or villainous they might be, they are still regarded as ‘Raja Betas’,” the court said, and imposed a fine of Rs 30 lakh on the convict to be paid to the child’s family.

Accused raped and murdered minor daughter of his employer

The accused had raped and murdered the minor daughter of his employer on May 31, 2018. The minor’s father was a tent installer, and the accused had been working with him for over five years.

The accused allegedly took the minor to his home, where he raped and killed her with a kitchen knife and hid her body in a container while his mother had gone to work.

Also Read: Yearender 2025: The year of wars, tariff turmoil, and climate disasters

Some villagers said they had seen the accused taking the minor towards his home, after which the owner of a local school where CCTV was installed was contacted. The footage showed the accused taking the girl along while holding her hand. The family members then went to the house of the accused and enquired about him and the girl, but his mother denied their presence. However, she refused to let them in. One of the child’s cousins noticed a container lying in the compound, and her body was found in it.

Accused-mother duo booked under various sections

The accused was booked under Sections 302 (murder), 376 (rape), 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc), 363 (kidnapping), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender) of the IPC, and Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.

Also Read: Yearender 2025: The year dissent and angst triggered mass protests worldwide

The accused’s mother was also booked under Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc), 363 (kidnapping), 201 (causing disappearance of evidence of offence, or giving false information to screen offender).

On January 24, 2020, the trial court convicted the mother-son duo. It sentenced the accused to capital punishment and his mother to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.

They subsequently challenged their punishments in the high court.

Also Read: ‘Perpetrating unspeakable atrocities’: Sheikh Hasina slams Yunus govt over attacks on minorities

HC bench acquits mother of all charges

The court termed the mother’s attempt to shield her son as appalling and added that the attitude was not new and “deeply embedded in the region’s patriarchal mindset and culture”.

“The mother, after discovering that her Raja-beta, was not as gullible as his name suggested and he had assaulted and brutally killed a girl-child aged five, prioritised shielding her son instead of informing the police or seeking justice for the girl,” the court said.

Due to her “orthodox conditioning,” she tried to protect her “Raja-beta,” it said. In a civilised society, if any such “barbaric incident” would have happened, then a mother would have preferred justice for the minor girl than for her “Raja-beta”, the bench added.

The court acquitted the mother of all charges, saying her only fault was that she was trying to protect her “Raja-beta”, for which she cannot be punished.

Also Read: ‘Yunus govt destroyed Bangladesh, giving security to goons, terrorists’: Former MP

Commutes death penalty of accused to 30-year jail term

Calling the crime gruesome, the court said in its order, “To save the other kids and females, the convict must stay inside the four walls of the prison until he is closer to the sunset of his virility.”

The court also commuted the death penalty of accused to 30 years in jail, saying the minor’s murder was because of “panic” to destroy evidence of rape and not a premeditated act.