India, June 25 -- A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Maharashtra's Pune city on Thursday convicted a 65-year-old man for the rape and murder of a three-and-a-half-year-old girl in Nasrapur village, holding that the prosecution had established an "unbroken chain of circumstantial and forensic evidence" proving his guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Special Judge SR Salunkhe, while reserving the quantum of punishment for June 29, observed that the case falls under the "rarest of rare" category warranting capital punishment, citing the extreme brutality and inhuman manner in which the offence was committed.

"The accused showed no signs of repentance or potential for reformation. The only appropriate sentence...