2013 Gudiya Case: Delhi court finds two men guilty of kidnapping, rape of 5-year-old girl

A Delhi court on Saturday convicted two men in 2013 kidnapping and rape case of a 5-year-old girl, over seven years after the girl was found in a critical condition at a neighbour's rented accommodation.

A Special POCSO court at Karkardooma found the two accused - Manoj Shah and Pradeep Kumar - guilty of various offences. 

The court will announce the quantum of punishment on January 30.

"In our society, the minor girls are worshipped as goddess on certain occasions but in the present case the victim child had experienced exceptional depravity and extreme brutality," the court said as it delivered its verdict. 

"The crime against the victim was committed in a most grotesque and revolting manner and the collective conscience of the community was shaken," the court added.

The girl, later called Gudiya (doll) by a section of media, was reported missing on April 15, 2013 and was rescued on April 17 from a neighbour's rented accommodation in east Delhi's Gandhi Nagar. She was admitted to Delhi's AIIMS in a critical condition and accused were arrested separately from Bihar.

The case that came barely four months after the Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder created a huge outrage because of the nature of the brutality. 

When the girl was rescued,  traces of candles and bottles were found inside her private parts. The two men had fled after raping Gudiya and shoving a candle and bottle inside her private parts, believing that the child had died. 

Delhi police had registered a case and slapped various charges, including of attempt to murder and rape.