Kolkata: A court in West Bengal’s South 24 Parganas district on Friday handed a death sentence to a person convicted in connection with the rape and murder of a minor girl at Jaynagar in October this year.
Mustakin Sardar was convicted on Thursday by the judge of the district court at Baruipur in South 24 Parganas. On Friday, the same court handed down the death sentence.
The death sentence was announced exactly 62 days after the body of the victim was recovered on October 4.
The judge of the district court, Subrata Chattopadhya, has also ordered payment of Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the family of the victim.
After the death sentence was announced, advocate Bivas Chattopadhyay said that the incident was macabre and was one of the rarest of rare crimes.
“Hence, we demanded a death sentence which the court has granted. The most important factor in the case was the matching of the DNA profile and hence there was no room for doubts about the crime committed by the convict,” he said.
Immediately after the verdict was pronounced the West Bengal Police posted a message on its official X handle describing the verdict as “Justice for Jaynagar”.
“Justice for Jaynagar. Death sentence to the accused in the rape and murder of a minor girl within an unprecedented 62 days,” the police said.
The police also claimed that following speedy and accurate investigation in the matter the chargesheet in the case was filed within 25 days from the date of crime.
“The trial process started from November 5 and it was completed in just 21 days. This is an unprecedented verdict. Never in the history has there been a case in West Bengal where the accused was convicted and sentenced within 62 days. Our aim was to ensure speedy and prompt justice to the parents of the victim. This is our achievement,” the police said in a statement.
(IANS)
