A special POCSO court in Kolkata on Tuesday awarded death sentence to a man a day after he was convicted of raping a seven-month-old child in the city on November 30 last year.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) court held Rajib Ghosh guilty of rape, kidnapping and attempt to murder. Twenty-four witnesses, including eight experts, were examined during the 40-day trial that started on January 7, special public prosecutor Bibhas Chatterjee said.
Ghosh, who hails from Jhargram district in the state, was arrested on December 5 days after he allegedly committed the crime on November 30. Local residents informed the police after the toddler was found crying on the footpath in the early hours.
The victim, Chatterjee added, is undergoing treatment at the state-run RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, Kolkata. Her condition is still critical due to the severe injuries she sustained, hospital officials said.
The public prosecutor had prayed for capital punishment arguing that the crime fell under the ‘rarest of the rare’ case category. This was the seventh death sentence awarded by courts in West Bengal in the last six months and the sixth capital punishment awarded under POCSO Act for perpetrating sexual assault on minors.
The case was registered under Sections 137(2) and 65(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 6 of the POCSO Act.\
Chatterjee said that assistance from the Central Forensic Science Laboratory (CFSL) was taken by the prosecution for establishing the role of the accused in the crime. The unique gait of the accused helped in identifying him from CCTV footage, he said.
Indrila Mukhopadhyay, Judge of the special POCSO court, wrote in the order, “Police monitored the trial on a daily basis to ensure speedy trial. During trial (1) First time used a write blocker with projector for presentation of the CCTV footage (audio-visual) before the Ld. Court. (2) Total 24 witnesses were examined and depositions of all the witnesses are in favour of prosecution. (3) 7 experts of different fields including FSL & CFSL were examined and all the depositions of the experts are in favour of prosecution. (4) MSVP of R.G. Kar MCH was also examined and he stated complete perennial rupture, heinous medical injuries, rarest one, colostomy has to be done of the victim baby.” — PTI Inputs