7-Year-Old's Neighbour Sentenced To Death For Her Rape And Murder In Kolkata

A year and a half after a 7-year-old girl was raped and murdered and her body was found inside a sack, a court in Kolkata has sentenced her neighbour to death, holding that the crime falls under the category of "rarest of rare" cases.

Pronouncing the sentence on Thursday, the special Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) court quoted Scottish philosopher and economist Adam Smith and said, "Mercy to the guilty is cruelty to the innocent"

The girl went missing from her house in Kolkata's Tiljala area on the morning of March 26, 2023. Based on the family's complaint, the Kolkata Police launched an extensive search and, later that evening, her body was found in a sack inside the kitchen of one of her neighbours' flats. 

The neighbour was identified as Alok Kumar Shaw and investigation revealed that he had abducted the girl after offering her chocolate. He then sexually assaulted her before brutally killing her. 

The incident led to anger in the area and protesters torched several cars and also vandalised a police station. 

The Kolkata Police's Homicide Section investigated the case and submitted a chargesheet on June 16, 2023. The charges were framed before the special POCSO court on July 24. 

The court convicted Shaw on Wednesday for the abduction, rape and murder of the girl. Pronouncing the verdict of capital punishment on Thursday, it said the way in which the 7-year-old girl was sexually assaulted and killed puts the crime in the category of "rarest of rare cases".