A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) court in Kolkata on Monday convicted the accused in the rape of a seven-month-old girl in November last year. Rajiv Ghosh, 34, will be sentenced on Tuesday. The public prosecutor has sought capital punishment. The victim went missing from a roadside shanty located in the Burtolla area in north KolkATA. The police, on the basis of the CCTV footage, identified Ghosh and he was arrested from Gopiballavpur in Jhargram district on December 4 last year and charged with rape and kidnapping. He was booked under Section 137 (2) (punishment for kidnapping), Section 65 (2), and Section 6 (pun punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Pocso Act, 2012. The Pocso court judge will pronounce the sentence on Ghosh on Tuesday and the sentencing will take place on February 17, 2025. For confidential support on suicide matters call the Samaritans on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch, see www.samaritans.org for details. In the U.S. call the National Suicide Prevention Line on 1-800-273-8255 or visit http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/.
