New Delhi, July 24: The Supreme Court has confirmed the death penalty for the rapist of a five-year-old who killed her by inserting a stick into her vagina to cover up his crime.

Both the Agra trial court and Allahabad High Court had awarded death penalty to Bantu, who thrust an 8-cm thick wooden stick to make the death look accidental.

He allegedly lured the girl away on the night of October 4, 2003, from a prayer meeting at a neighbour’s house in Agra’s Basai Khurd village with the promise of a balloon.

When she didn’t come back after a long time, her family started a search. Naresh Kumar, who was a complainant along with his brother Vishal, and another witness had seen Bantu take away the child.

Some people looking for her caught Bantu, completely naked, thrusting the stick into the girl’s lifeless bleeding body. She was declared dead at the hospital. The accused initially admitted to having raped her and murdered her.

Doctors said the death was caused by shock and haemorrhage. Bantu later denied the crime during trial and alleged he had been falsely implicated over a land dispute.

However, the trial court went by witnesses’ accounts and sentenced him to life. The high court dismissed his appeal, saying he had killed the girl in the most merciless of ways. Yesterday, the apex court took the same view.