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Chandigarh | Assistant professor, friend awarded 20-year RI for raping minor
The district court sentenced a Kurukshetra University assistant professor and his friend to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a teenager, who was preparing for the pre-medical entrance examination at a coaching centre in Sector 36
The district court sentenced a Kurukshetra University assistant professor and his friend to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a teenager, who was preparing for the pre-medical entrance examination at a coaching centre in Sector 36 on Monday.
Those convicted are Gaurav Kamboj, 29, of Karnal, who worked as an assistant professor at Kurukshetra University, and Sai Kayan, alias Aarman, 21, of Sector 19, Chandigarh, who was pursuing a bachelor of arts degree.
While Aarman was convicted under Sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her to marry) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 6 (aggravated sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, Kamboj was only convicted under Section 6 of the Pocso Act. A fine of ₹50,000 and ₹30,000, respectively,was imposed on them.
The victim told the court that Kamboj was their family friend. “He convinced my father to enrol me in a school in Chandigarh. He also got me admitted to a coaching centre in Sector 36 and also arranged a PG (paying guest accommodation) for me,” said the victim, who had come to the city to study in 2019.
“After I she scored poorly in a few tests at the coaching centre, the accused threatened to disclose my marks to my parents unless I established physical relations with him,” the victim told the court. The accused reportedly sexually abused her three to four times.
In August 2020, Aarman, who is Kamboj’s friend, offered the victim a cold drink and a snack, after which she felt dizzy, the court was told. The victim said she regained consciousness after two-three days in a car that was parked in Sector 19. She was rescued by the police.
The victim’s father had registered an FIR against unknown persons for kidnapping his daughter on August 24.
Both convicts denied the allegations and pleaded for leniency. However, additional district judge, Swati Sehgal observed, “Considering the plea of the convicts, the age of the victim and convicts, aggravating and mitigating circumstance, necessity of harmonious construction between deterrence against crime viz-a-viz re-formative approach of punishment , hands of justice need not be tempered with mercy in the present case.”
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August 22 A 25-year-old servant was sent behind the bars for 30 years, for the “demonic act” of sexually assaulting an eight-year old Chandigarh resident by a fast track court.
