A special POCSO court in West Bengal’s Siliguri on 7 September sentenced one Md Abbas to death for rape and murder of a minor girl last year. The convict has been awarded the death sentence under two sections, section 302 of the Indian Penal Code and section 6 of the POCSO Act.
Apart from death sentences, Md Abbas has also been sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 7 years and 10 years, along with fine of Rs fifty thousand and Rs five thousand under section 363 of the IPC. The judgement states that the death sentence can’t be executed without it is confirmed by the High Court, as per rules.
Bengal BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari posted a copy of the judgement on X. He said that he welcome this Judgement.
On 21st August, 2023 the lifeless body of a 17 year old Class 11 Schoolgirl was found in her school uniform at a desolate place in Matigara; in the Siliguri Subdivision of the Darjeeling district.
— Suvendu Adhikari (@SuvenduWB) September 7, 2024
She was bludgeoned to death by Md. Abbas for resisting the sexual advances made by… https://t.co/Vnaj9x6YMY pic.twitter.com/YlYTlKNUK0
Talking about the verdict, Special Public Prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee said, “On the last occasion, we pleaded for the death sentence because three sections on which the punishment was proved among the other sections carries a maximum punishment. So last day I had a one-and-a-half hour hearing on this point trying to project this case as one of the rarest of the rare cases… The death sentence was awarded in two consecutive sections. One is section 302, which is murder and another is section 6 of the POCSO Act. Other than this there was seven years imprisonment for the other case and Rs ten lakh compensation has been awarded to the family members as a compensation…”
After the sentencing, the convict said that he will appeal against the verdict and will avail free legal aid for the same as per the rules. The POCSO court also awarded a grant of ₹10,00,000 to the victim, as the court holds that the convict committed the crime under section 6 of the POCSO act.
Mohammed Abbas was arrested on 21 August 2023 in connection to the gruesome rape and murder of the minor girl. The victim was attacked by Abbas on 21 August while she was returning home from school. He took the underage girl inside an abandoned house at Rabindrapally and allegedly attempted to rape her.
When she resisted, he smashed her face with a brick. The locals heard her screams and found the victim, lying in a pool of blood, wearing the school uniform. She breathed her last soon after. The victim was a student of Class 11 at a Nepali medium school. Her face was smashed beyond recognition by Md Abbas.
He was arrested by police using CCTV footage and eyewitnesses on the same day. He reportedly confessed to committing the heinous crime after his arrest.
