Pocso court sentences man to death for rape-murder of 7-year-old in Kolkata

A Pocso court Thursday sentenced a gas delivery agent, 33, to death for rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl, the only child of his landlord in Kolkata's Tiljala, in March last year, reports . Among those who testified against Alok Kumar Sah was his wife, pregnant with the couple's child at the time of the crime.

Kolkata police filed a 250-page chargesheet within 80 days of the crime. After his arrest, the accused claimed he killed the child for the "well-being" of his yet-to-be-born child on advice of a tantrik. But probe nailed his lie. Autopsy revealed the child had died due to strangulation and head injuries and was sexually abused. Forty-five witnesses, including the accused's wife, testified against him. "The wife's testimony was crucial. No witnesses turned hostile," public prosecutor Shibnath Adhikari said.