Calcutta court awards death penalty to man for rape and murder of 7-year-old girl

 The crime happened on MArch 26 last year and there were widespread, violent protests after the child’s body was found in a gunny bag in the convict’s home

TT Bureau, Calcutta, 26.09.24 : The Alipore court on Thursday awarded the death penalty to a man for the rape and murder of a seven-year-old child in the Tiljala area.

The special Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court judge Sudipto Bhattacharya, while announcing capital punishment for Ashok Shaw, said the case was among the rarest of rare as the little girl was not in a position to fight the perpetrator.

“Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent,” those present in the court heard the judge say while announcing the quantum of punishment.

The family of the victim live on the second floor of a multi-storey building. Around 8 in the morning of March 26 last year, the girl’s mother had asked the child to fetch a packet of milk from the local market and drop a garbage bag in the bin.

That was the last time the parents saw their child. More than two-and-half hours passed but the child did not return. The family went to the Tiljala police station and lodged a missing complaint.

A search team was sent to the locality and the cops went through the CCTV footage from the cameras at the market and those adjoining the building where the family lived.

From the footage, the cops gathered that the child had returned to the building after dropping the garbage bag.

Immediately, a search was carried out in the entire building that included the flat of the convict from whose kitchen the bruised corpse of the seven-year-old child was recovered in a gunny bag dumped behind the cooking gas cylinder.

“The child’s hands were tied behind and her mouth gagged when the sexual assault was carried out. There were more than 26 wounds on the body. The head was struck with a hammer. Attempt was made to gouge the eyes,” said public prosecutor Shibnath Adhikari.

After the girl went missing, there were widespread, violent protests in Tiljala and Park Circus areas demanding better policing. Cars were torched, a police station was vandalised, traffic was brought to a halt and railway services were affected.

Investigation conducted by the Kolkata Police’s detective department’s homicide section revealed that Shaw had lured the child into his flat with chocolates and then proceeded to assault and kill her.

After the charge-sheet was filed against the accused on June 16, 2023, the case went for trial at the special Pocso court. More than 45 witnesses were examined.

The judge had on Wednesday found Shaw guilty on the charges of rape, murder and under the Pocso Act.