50-year-old gets death sentence for rape & murder

Suman Mondal, TNN, Nov 17, 2018, TAMLUK: A 50-year-old Haldia resident, Srimanta Tunga (50), was on Friday sentenced to death by Tamluk court a day after his conviction in the 2016 rape and murder of his 14-year-old domestic help. He was accused of repeatedly raping the minor girl before strangling her to death on August 8, 2016. After her death, Srimanta allegedly dragged the girl's body to the bathroom of his house, poured kerosene on it and set it ablaze.

A casual worker of Haldia Dock Complex, Srimanta called the girl's family that day and told them that she was ill. Her mother and other relatives reached Srimanta's house and found her burnt body. Haldia police arrested Srimanta and charged him under sections 302, 376, 201 of IPC and section 6 of Pocso Act. Srimanta never got bail since his arrest as the chargesheet was filed within 90 days. Thereafter, the charges were framed and the trial was completed in about two years.

Public prosecutor (PP) Abdul Mohit said, "The case was disposed off very quickly. Besides convicting and sentencing the accused to death, the Tamluk court has directed the state to pay Rs 5 lakh to the victim's family as compensation."