2021 West Bengal Post-Poll Violence | POCSO Court Awards Life Imprisonment To 2 In Minor's Gang Rape Case

A Special POCSO Court in Jangipur, Murshidabad, West Bengal has sentenced 2 men to life imprisonment in a CBI-investigated gang rape case arising out of the violence that followed the 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections.

The POCSO Court on July 29 sentenced accused Karim Sk. and Sayed Tarjen Hossain to life imprisonment for the offence punishable under Section 376DA of the Indian Penal Code (gang rape of a woman under sixteen years of age).

The court also imposed rigorous imprisonment for varying terms for other offences, directing that all sentences shall run concurrently.

The case was investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) pursuant to directions issued by the Calcutta High Court in connection with the post-poll violence that erupted across West Bengal after the declaration of the 2021 Assembly election results.

The High Court, by an order dated August 19, 2021, passed in WPA (P) Nos. 142 to 149 of 2021 and WPA (P) No. 167 of 2021, had directed that cases involving murder and crimes against women, particularly rape and attempted rape, be handed over to the CBI for investigation.

In compliance with the High Court's directions, the CBI's Special Crime Branch, Kolkata, registered RC 14(S)/2022 on May 27, 2022, after taking over the investigation of Farakka Police Station FIR No. 118/2021, dated June 11, 2021, in Murshidabad district.

The FIR had been registered on the basis of a written complaint lodged by the father of the minor survivor and invoked offences under Sections 376DA and 365 of the IPC, along with Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Following the trial, the Special Court convicted both accused on July 28, 2026. On the following day, it pronounced the sentence, awarding life imprisonment for the gang rape offence and additional concurrent terms of rigorous imprisonment for the remaining offences.

Apart from imposing the sentence, the court directed that the sale proceeds of an ambulance belonging to one of the accused be paid to the survivor. It also ordered the District Legal Services Authority, Murshidabad, to pay ₹5 lakh as compensation to the victim.

To understand the magnitude of the 2021 post-poll violence in the state, Call for Justice, a responsible Civil Society Organisation (CSO) had constituted a Fact- Finding Committee to inquire into the Post Poll violence in West Bengal.

The observations and findings (as updated in 2021) of the Committee were as follows:

1. Magnitude and reach of the post-poll violence touched many villages and towns all across the State simultaneously beginning from the night of 2nd May 2021. This is a clear indication that most of the incidents were not sporadic but premeditated, organised and conspiratorial.

2. The fact that some of the hardened criminals, mafia dons and criminal gangs, who were already in the police records, led and carried out the deadly attacks unhindered reveals that there is clear political patronage even before the elections and the same is being used to silence the political rivals.

3. The incidents of targeted destruction and vandalisation of properties, residential and commercial, have a sole purpose to deprive the livelihoods and choke the victims economically. The worst-affected people are those who depend on day-to-day work or business, who are pushed into financial degradation and unmitigated misery.

4. In most of the cases, victims were afraid to lodge a complaint with the police either due to fear of reprisal or due to the lack of faith in the police. Those victims who mustered the courage to go to the police were either turned away to settle the matter with the culprits or had their cases flatly refused to be registered. Many people left to fend for themselves, leaving their homes and villages for safer destinations and sheltering in camps within and outside the State.

5. Forcibly taking away Aadhar cards, ration cards, demanding a written undertaking on not to support a particular political party, demanding for ransom and protection money (called tolabazi) to return to workplace or for reclaiming lands or for rebuilding the houses, removal from contractual employment and all such incidents are basically to instill a lasting political impact and fear psychosis at large.

6. The targeting of people from Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Women, Children and other vulnerable sections of society reflects the deep-rooted malaise that had set in the system.

7. Although the exact number of casualties, grievous injuries, and extent of damage to property is yet to be fully known, the lumpenisation of public life nurtured and protected through powerful lobbies at every level is very clear.

8. The intensity and spread of post-poll violence could have been halted or controlled if the administration and police had acted in time. The assessment of the ground situation reveals that no adequate or reasonable measures were taken, knowingly or unknowingly.

9. The fact that thousands of victims ran helter-skelter leaving their homes and villages to faraway places, wherever they felt safe and secure inside and outside the State is a sad reality.

The Committee comprised of the following members:

1. Justice Permod Kohli, Former Chief Justice, High Court of Sikkim– Chairperson

2. Shri Anand Bose, IAS (Retired), Former Chief Secretary, Kerala– Member

3. Ms. Nirmal Kaur, IPS (Retired), Former DGP, Jharkhand– Member

4. Shri Nisar Ahmed, Past President, ICSI– Member

5. Shri M. Madan Gopal, IAS (Retired), Former Additional Chief Secretary, Karnataka– Member Secretary