A retired school teacher was sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of a minor girl, marking the first conviction among the 55 post-poll violence cases registered by the CBI in 2021 on the directives of Calcutta High Court.
The verdict was delivered by Rajib Saha, additional district and sessions judge of the second court (Pocso), who also directed the state government to compensate the survivor’s family with ₹3 lakh.
In addition, the convict has been ordered to pay a fine of ₹50,000 or face an additional six months of imprisonment.
According to Amitava Maitra, special public prosecutor for the CBI, the case dates back to June 5, 2021, when the minor girl was sexually assaulted by Rafikul Hossain, 66, a retired teacher, at her residence in Jalalpur under the jurisdiction of Manikchak police station in Malda district. At the time of the incident, the girl’s mother was working in a nearby agricultural field and her father, a migrant worker, was away from home.
“The CBI registered the case following an investigation under directions from Calcutta High Court. It is the first among the 55 post-poll violence cases where a final verdict has been delivered,” Maitra said. “The court heard testimonies of 22 witnesses over four years before finding the accused guilty on July 2. The sentence was pronounced today (on Friday).”
The case had a political undertone as well, with BJP leaders alleging that the convict was a Trinamool Congress supporter and that the crime was politically motivated. “The family was targeted because they did not support Trinamool during the 2021 Assembly elections,” a BJP source claimed.
The survivor’s mother expressed satisfaction over the court’s ruling. “We have waited for justice for a long time. Today’s judgment has given us some relief,” she said.