A special Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court in Jalpaiguri has ordered death sentence to a person on Wednesday for raping and murdering a minor girl around two years ago.

The incident occurred on September 29, 2023, when local residents of a panchayat area in Dhupguri block of the district were busy with the elected board at the local panchayat.

The convict lured the victim, who was playing alone in front of her house, inside his house by offering her water and then locked her in a room and raped her.

To conceal the crime, he strangulated the girl with a gamcha, put her body in
a sack and threw it into a nearby river.

The girl’s family members filed a missing persons complaint at the local police station. Police initiated a probe and recovered her body. The person was soon arrested.

At the trial, 16 witnesses deposed before the court in connection with the case.

Rintu Sur, the Judge, convicted the person for rape and murder and sentenced him to death. The court has also ordered the District Legal Services Authority to pay ₹5 lakh to the girl’s family as compensation, a source said.