Auraiya/UNI: A youth was awarded capital punishment by a local court in Auraiya district here in Uttar Pradesh on Wednesday in connection with the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl in the Ayana area, prosecution sources said here.

Prosecution sources said that while sentencing Gautam Singh to capital punishment, Special Judge (Pocso) Manraj Singh said that the accused should be hanged till death.

"The court said that men are born from women and the act of the convict is more reprehensible than that of animals," they said.

Prosecution sources said that the court observed that if girls cannot move in the open, then what is the place for them, where they can move.

"It is said that in Indian culture, women are considered to be the root of religion and such crimes against women are not acceptable in any religion and culture," they said.

Prosecution sources said that the court observed that in Indian culture girls have been described as powerful women who create new power, but the criminal ended her life in her childhood, therefore the convict is sentenced to death.

It may be noted that during the hearing the prosecution counsels termed the crime as rarest of the rare and prayed for capital punishment to the accused. It may be noted that the victim went missing from a village in Ayana area on March 24 evening.

When the family members failed to trace the girl till late night they informed the police. Superintendent of Police (SP) Charu Nigam along with other officers and forces from several police stations reached the village and launched a manhunt.

The body of the victim was found in a field on March 25 afternoon and a preliminary investigation revealed that she was raped and murdered. After investigation, the police arrested Gautam Singh, who admitted to the crime during interrogation.