A Kolkata court on Thursday sentenced a man to death for the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in 2023, holding that it was a case of the rarest of rare nature.


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The girl had gone missing from near her house at Tiljala in south-east Kolkata on March 26 last year when she went out on some chores.


The police launched an investigation after a missing diary was lodged and found her body in a nearby flat.


The tenant of the flat was arrested and charged with rape and murder of the girl after post-mortem examination reports confirmed the crimes.


The body bore blunt weapon injuries and strangulation marks post-rape, according to the autopsy report.


Special Judge (POCSO) at Alipore court, Sudipto Bhattacharya, finding the accused guilty of rape and murder, sentenced him to death, holding that it was a case of the rarest of rare nature.


He observed that the girl, who was of the tender age of seven, had no possibility of defending herself and was subjected to the heinous crime.


The trial was completed within a year after framing of charges against the accused before the court, public prosecutor Madhavi Ghosh said.


The court also ordered that Rs 10 lakh be paid by the West Bengal government to the girl's mother under the victim compensation scheme of the state.