A 19-year-old man convicted of rape and murder of a 10-year-old girl in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district has been sentenced to death. Mostakin Sardar was arrested hours after the crime occurred in Mahishamari on October 5 and a chargesheet was filed in a month. The trial was completed within 31 days and the sentencing was done in just over two months.
A court found him guilty on Friday under sections 103 (murder), 65 (rape) and 66 (punishment for causing death or resulting in a persistent vegetative state of the victim) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Sections of the stringent Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were also added after scrutiny from the Calcutta High Court.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee praised the fast delivery of justice, stating that the accused was sentenced to death within 62 days of the ghastly incident.
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“Conviction and capital punishment in such a case in just over two months is unprecedented in the history of the state. I congratulate the state police and all those involved in the prosecution process for this outstanding achievement. The government has zero tolerance towards offences against women and will continue to ensure that justice is neither delayed nor denied,” Ms Banerjee said.
The girl’s parents had reported her missing after she did not return from her tuition. Sources had said the convict had kidnapped the child on the pretext of giving her a lift and promised her ice cream.
The cops identified the culprit through CCTV footage and arrested him. Sardar later confessed to his crime and led to the spot where he had dumped the body. The cops recovered her body from the field and a post-mortem later confirmed she was sexually assaulted.
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The incident sparked furious protests in Mahishamari, coming on the heels of the rape and murder of a doctor at the RG Kar hospital. The angry villagers vandalised a local police station and set it on fire.
Meanwhile, another shocking rape case of a seven-month-old has emerged from Kolkata. The infant was allegedly kidnapped from the pavement. Cops have invoked POCSO charges and started a probe, but no arrests have been made yet. The baby has been admitted to the RG Kar hospital.
