Kolkata, Aug 6 : A court in West Bengal's West Burdwan district on Wednesday handed down the death penalty to a man convicted of killing his minor daughter after raping her.

The court pronounced the verdict within 15 months since the heinous crime was committed.

Judge Suparna Bandopadhyay of the exclusive Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) court in Asansol gave the verdict after considering the testimony of 16 witnesses and supporting evidence of the presence of the father's DNA in his daughter's body.

Public prosecutor Somnath Chatteraj said that the judge convicted the accused father within one year and three months after taking the testimony of 16 people.

The incident took place on May 13 last year, in the Narsinghbandh area of the Hirapur police station in Asansol.

As the girl's mother saw the 15-year-old lying on a bed, bleeding from her nose and ears, she screamed, waking up the neighbours, who rushed to her house. The victim also had a scar on her neck. The mother had complained at that time that her husband prevented her from taking her to the hospital. The neighbours forcibly took the girl to the hospital, where the doctor declared her dead.

The initial autopsy report revealed that the minor was raped before being murdered. The father was arrested based on the complaint of the girl's mother. Following an investigation, explosive information emerged.

After interrogating the father and receiving the post-mortem report, the police found out that the minor was raped and strangled to death with a rope. The police also recovered the rope, which was used in the murder, from a dustbin near the house.

The Asansol court convicted the father on Monday on the basis of all the evidence and testimonies of 16 people, and the judge announced the quantum of punishment today.

Public prosecutor Chattaraj said the DNA of the accused person was found on the victim's genitals. "Multiple pieces of evidence were found on the bed sheet. The court sentenced the accused to death based on the statement of the mother, the statements of the investigating officer, doctors, and considering other evidence," he added.

/IANS