A court in Siliguri on Saturday awarded capital punishment to a youth for raping and murdering a 13-year-old schoolgirl a year ago.

The court set up under the Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) Act had earlier this week found Mohammad Abbas, 22, guilty of the crime.

“The additional district and session judge who is also in charge of the Pocso court ordered the death sentence for him under Section 6 of the Pocso Act and Section 302 of the IPC,” said Bibhas Chatterjee, the special public prosecutor.

Abbas committed the crime on August 21, 2023, and was soon arrested by Siliguri Metropolitan Police.

During the trial that commenced in January, 22 witnesses appeared in the court. Sources said the court also examined digital and forensic evidence before pronouncing the verdict.

Chatterjee said the court found the case rarest of the rare.

“While awarding the death sentence, the court ordered the state to pay ₹10 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family. We believe the judgment will send a strong message to the society,” he added.

In Jalpaiguri, a special Pocso court on Friday sentenced an army jawan, who is under suspension now, to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 15-year-old girl in February 2022.

Mohammad Alaul Haque was found guilty of taking the girl into his house on the pretext of helping her with medicine and raping her.

After a couple of days, her mother suspected that the girl was having some problems and took her to a hospital. The doctor examined the girl and found that she had been
sexually assaulted and needed an abortion.

The doctor filed a police complaint. Later, the victim’s father filed another complaint at the local police station. The police arrested Haque, the girl’s neighbour.

After the arrest, the army suspended him. Haque is around 40 years old now.

Sources said Haque had filed a petition in Calcutta High Court, seeking bail. The court rejected the bail plea.

“Thirteen witnesses, including three doctors, deposed in the Pocso court which found the accused guilty and ordered 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for him. The judge asked Haque to pay a fine of ₹1 lakh, failing which he would have to spend another year behind bars,” said Debasish Dutta, the government lawyer in the case.

The girl’s father said: “We thank the court for giving us justice.”