West Bengal Court Orders Death Sentence To Rape Accused In 62 Days; Mamata Banerjee Hails
Jaynagar, West Bengal: 62 days after a 19-year-old man raped and murdered a 9-year-old girl in West Bengal’s Jaynagar, a court on Friday sentenced the accused to death. The court’s swift delivery of justice to the minor victim by giving capital punishment to the perpetrator has been hailed as a good precedent in the country, where reports of rapes have become regular occurrences.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while appreciating the verdict, asserted that the government has zero tolerance towards offenses against women and will continue to ensure that justice is neither delayed nor denied. She also congratulated the state police and all others involved in the prosecution process for the case.
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“Conviction and capital punishment in such a case in just over two months is unprecedented in the history of the state. I congratulate the state police and all those involved in the prosecution process for this outstanding achievement. The Govt has zero tolerance towards offenses against women and will continue to ensure that justice is neither delayed nor denied,” the chief minister wrote.
The accused in the case involving the brutal rape and murder of a minor girl in Joynagar on 4.10.24 has been sentenced to death today by the POCSO court at Baruipur just within 62 days of the ghastly incident. Conviction and capital punishment in such a case in just over two…
— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) December 6, 2024
The 19-year-old accused, Mustakin Sardar, committed the crime on October 4 in South 24 Parganas’s Jaynagar when the 9-year-old girl was returning after tuition. As the girl was returning from her tuition, the accused suddenly appeared in front of her, rapped, and then murdered. Not finding the girl, the family lodged a missing complaint at Jaynagar Police Station later that night.
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The police immediately began searching for the girl, using CCTV footage, and with the help of eyewitness accounts, the cops could nab the culprit within around 2 hours. Sardar confessed to the crime during the interrogation and disclosed where the victim’s body is. The police then recovered the girl’s body the same night.
An expedited investigation by a five-member Special Investigation Team (SIT) filed a chargesheet in a record 25 days and submitted it before the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court on October 30. The court began the trial on November 4, heard testimonies of 36 witnesses, and concluded the proceedings on October 30.
