Chandigarh, June 4 -- Calling it a crime most brutal, bestial and barbaric that clearly falls in the "rarest of the rare" category, a special POCSO court in Chandigarh on Tuesday awarded death penalty to a 40-year-old man who raped and murdered an eight-year-old girl in the city in January 2024.

The court of additional sessions judge Yashika ruled that the convict, Hira Lal, be hanged by neck, till he is dead, only after confirmation by the Punjab and Haryana high court.

"The entire record of the case, along with the duly sealed electronic evidence, be submitted before the high court for confirmation of death sentence under Section 366 (1) CrPC," said the court.

It also ordered the State Legal Services Authority to disburse a compensat...