West Bengal: Siliguri Court Sentences Convict to Death for Rape and Murder of Minor

A court in Siliguri, West Bengal, sentenced MD Abbas to death for the rape and murder of a minor girl, a crime that took place last year. The verdict was delivered by Additional District and Sessions Judge Anita Mehrotra Mathur, who declared the case one of the “rarest of the rare,” warranting the maximum punishment under the law.

Prosecutor’s Stand: A Case of Rarest of the Rare

Special Public Prosecutor Bivas Chatterjee, representing the prosecution, emphasized the gravity of the crime during the sentencing phase. “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,” Chatterjee stated.

The death penalty was imposed under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code, which pertains to murder, and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. These sections together justified the harshest sentence available, given the severity of the crime.

The Crime: Brutal Rape and Murder of a Minor Girl

The crime occurred on August 21, 2023, when a minor girl was attacked while on her way to school. She was brutally raped and murdered in an abandoned area within the jurisdiction of the Matigara Police Station in Siliguri. Swift police action led to the arrest of MD Abbas just six hours after the crime was reported, and a detailed investigation ensued.

Over the course of the trial, the court heard testimonies from 33 witnesses, whose accounts painted a harrowing picture of the events leading up to the crime. Judge Mathur, after considering all evidence and arguments, concluded that the nature of the crime justified the death penalty.

Nation Reacts Amid Rising Concerns Over Women’s Safety

This judgment arrives amidst widespread national outrage over another high-profile case involving the brutal rape and murder of a trainee doctor at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The ongoing investigation in that case has so far led to the arrest of Sanjay Roy, a civic volunteer. In court, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) noted that Roy was the sole perpetrator of the crime and clarified that no gang rape was involved.

Recent Judgements in Similar Cases: A String of Death Sentences

The Siliguri case is not an isolated instance of courts imposing the death penalty for heinous crimes against women and minors. In May this year, the Kerala High Court upheld the death sentence for Muhammed Ameer ul-Islam, who was convicted of the rape and murder of a 30-year-old law student in Ernakulam district in 2016. The crime, committed by a 22-year-old migrant laborer from Assam, involved brutal assault with sharp-edged weapons, leading to the victim’s death.

Similarly, in February, a sessions court in Gurugram sentenced a 28-year-old man to death for the abduction, rape, and murder of a three-year-old girl. The crime, which occurred in 2018, took place when the victim was abducted near a temple during a ‘bhandara’ event. The special fast-track court of Additional Sessions Judge Shashi Chauhan found the man guilty under Section 376AB (rape of a woman under 12 years of age) and Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.

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