SC Stays Death Sentence Of Convict In Bhopal Minors Rape-Murder Case
On September 26, 2024, the girl's body was found in a closed flat. The post-mortem report revealed that she was raped and strangled to death.
Published : March 10, 2026 at 10:34 PM IST
Bhopal: The Supreme Court has granted an interim stay on the triple death sentence awarded to Atul Nihale, convicted in the rape and murder case of a five-year-old minor girl in the Shahjahanabad area of Bhopal in 2024.
A three-judge bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sandeep Mehta, and N V Anjaria granted the stay on the death sentence while admitting the appeal filed by the convict against the decision of the Madhya Pradesh High Court. During the hearing, the High Court stated that “every drop of evidence clearly demonstrates the cruelty of the accused.”
On September 24, 2024, Atul Nihale allegedly raped and murdered the 5-year-old girl in the Vajpayee Nagar Multi-family in the Madhya Pradesh capital. On March 18, 2025, the accused was sentenced to triple death under various sections of the POCSO Act, including rape, murder, and the Criminal Procedure Code. In January 2026, the Madhya Pradesh High Court upheld the death sentence, stating that the very thought of it was horrifying. The High Court considered it a "rarest of rare" case.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court has also ordered that the court will now decide whether to interfere with the lower court and High Court decisions based on the record and arguments from both parties.
The girl disappeared after leaving her grandmother's house
In September 2024, the girl suddenly disappeared from her grandmother's flat in Bhopal. She had gone to her grandmother's house but did not return home after a long search. After an extensive search, when she remained untraceable, her family filed a police complaint. Following this, the police began searching for the girl.
Body found in water tank of a closed flat
During the police investigation, the girl's father told the police that she had been missing since a fog-spraying vehicle arrived. The police inspected the scene, and the dog squad and FSL team searched for the girl with the help of a drone camera. However, even after two days, she had not been found. Two days later, on September 26, 2024, the girl's body was found in the water tank of a closed flat. The post-mortem report revealed that she had been raped and then strangled to death.
The Supreme Court's stay has halted the execution of the death sentence. This order came during the hearing of an appeal filed by the accused.
