Kolkata, Sep 7 : A district court in West Bengal on Saturday sentenced a man to death for the rape and murder of a minor girl at Matigara in Darjeeling district last year.

The Siliguri sub-divisional court pronounced the death sentence against Mohammad Abbas, who had been convicted for first raping and then brutally killing a Class 11 student by smashing her head with a brick in August last year.

The body of the victim was found in an isolated hut in the forests of the Matigara area on August 21 last year. The incident triggered massive protests throughout the state.

On the basis of evidence, the investigating officers identified Abbas as the accused and filed a charge sheet against him. Abbas was booked under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Indian Penal Code (IPS).

After over a year of hearings in the court, the accused was convicted and then sentenced to death on Saturday. The public prosecutor welcomed the verdict saying the nature of the rape and murder was extremely brutal.

'I had been pleading for capital punishment since the beginning. Besides the death penalty to the convict, the court has also ordered a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for the victim's family,' he said.

The victim's parents also welcomed the verdict, saying nothing less than capital punishment was suitable for the convict.

The verdict came amid state-wide protests against the ghastly rape and murder of a junior doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata last month.

/IANS