POCSO court sentences man to death for rape-murder of minor girl in Bengal

POCSO court in West Bengal sentences man to death for rape and murder of 5-year-old girl, prompt justice applauded.

A Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) court in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Friday (January 17, 2025) sentenced to death a man for the rape and murder of a five-year old girl at Gurap in the district. The accused Ashoke Singh (42) was found guilty of the rape and murder of minor. The court had held the accused guilty of the crime on Wednesday and on Friday pronounced the verdict.

The crime took place on the evening of November 24, 2024. The girl had gone missing and after a search by her family members in the locality, her body was found in the house of the convict, who happened to be the neighbour of the victim. He was arrested by the Gurap police on the same night. The chargesheet was filed 14 days after the crime and the award of punishment comes 54 days after the crime.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee congratulated the police and the judiciary for the prompt action and thorough investigation in the case.

“Today, the court has pronounced death sentence for the convict who had raped and murdered the small girl of Gurap and I thank the judiciary for that. I thank Hooghly Rural District Police for their swift action and thorough probe that ensured speedy trial and conviction in 54 days,” Ms. Banerjee said in a statement on social media.

The Chief Minister added that “a rapist has no place in our world”. “All of us together will make it a safer place for our children through stringent law, social reforms, effective and unforgiving administration. No such crime will go unpunished,” she said.

This is the third crime in the past few months where capital punishment has been awarded by courts in West Bengal. Earlier on December 6, a court awarded death sentence to the convict in the rape and murder of a minor at Kultali in South 24 Parganas district. The death sentence to Mostakin Sardar came 62 days after the crime was committed.

On December 13, a court in Murshidabad awarded death sentence to Dinabandhu Halder for the rape and murder of a minor at Farakka in Murshidabad district. The sentence was awarded on the 61st day of the crime, and the investigation was completed and chargesheet submitted by the police in 21 days. Another convict Subhojit Halder, an accomplice in the case, was awarded life sentence.