SILIGURI: A Siliguri Pocso court Saturday sentenced to death a 22-year-old daily wage worker for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl last year.
Justice Anita Mehrotra Mathur of the additional sessions judge court found Mohammad Abbas guilty of the crime on Wednesday, a day after the West Bengal assembly unanimously passed the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024. The trial lasted just over 12 months.
On Aug 21, 2023, cops recovered the body of the minor, in school uniform, from an abandoned plot at Rabindra Pally under Matigara police station.
The same night, police arrested Abbas from his residence at Lenin Colony in Matigara for the crime. It was revealed that Abbas had forced himself on the girl and when she resisted, he hit her on the head with a brick, killing her instantly.
Abbas was then booked under IPC Sections 363, 366, 302 and 376 and Section 6 of the Pocso Act.
"We examined 22 witnesses in this case. In the first stage it was kidnapping, followed by rape and murder," special public prosecutor Bivash Chatterjee said.
"In CCTV footage, the perpetrator was seen taking the victim on his cycle to the incident spot and leaving the spot after committing the crime. The pattern of the accused's cycling matched with the sample," he added.
Defence lawyer Bula Roy said she would appeal against the judgment.
The victim's mother burst into tears after the sentence was pronounced. "After more than a year, my daughter has finally got justice," she said.
Justice Anita Mehrotra Mathur of the additional sessions judge court found Mohammad Abbas guilty of the crime on Wednesday, a day after the West Bengal assembly unanimously passed the Aparajita Woman and Child (West Bengal Criminal Laws Amendment) Bill, 2024. The trial lasted just over 12 months.
On Aug 21, 2023, cops recovered the body of the minor, in school uniform, from an abandoned plot at Rabindra Pally under Matigara police station.
The same night, police arrested Abbas from his residence at Lenin Colony in Matigara for the crime. It was revealed that Abbas had forced himself on the girl and when she resisted, he hit her on the head with a brick, killing her instantly.
Abbas was then booked under IPC Sections 363, 366, 302 and 376 and Section 6 of the Pocso Act.
"We examined 22 witnesses in this case. In the first stage it was kidnapping, followed by rape and murder," special public prosecutor Bivash Chatterjee said.
"In CCTV footage, the perpetrator was seen taking the victim on his cycle to the incident spot and leaving the spot after committing the crime. The pattern of the accused's cycling matched with the sample," he added.
Defence lawyer Bula Roy said she would appeal against the judgment.
The victim's mother burst into tears after the sentence was pronounced. "After more than a year, my daughter has finally got justice," she said.
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