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Chandigarh man gets 20-yr RI for raping landlord’s minor daughter
According to the prosecution, Suman had been living on rent in Dariya, Chandigarh, for six months, when one night, he called his landlord’s minor daughter to his room and raped her
In the second such conviction in two days, a fast-track court has sentenced a Dariya village resident to 20-year rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping and impregnating his landlord’s minor daughter in March 2021.
Sentencing the accused, Suman, the court observed, “Sexual assault in any of its manifestations is degrading, humiliating and a monumental blow upon the self-esteem, dignity, respect, honour and confidence of the victim. Such a heinous and depreciable act of accused calls for strict punishment.”
The court awarded the convict 10-year jail and a fine of ₹10,000 for offence under Section 376 (2-n) (committing rape repeatedly on the same woman) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and 20-year rigorous imprisonment and fine of ₹10,000 for offence under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Both sentences will run concurrently.
According to the prosecution, Suman had been living on rent in Dariya for six months, when one night (date not mentioned), he called his landlord’s minor daughter to his room and raped her. He also threatened her not to disclose the matter to anyone, as “it will bring a bad name to her and her family”. Through repeated threats, he raped her numerous times.
The girl was a student of Class 9 then and in her teens. Her father drives a pick-up truck, while her mother is a homemaker.
Eventually, the girl felt sick, following which her mother took her to the Manimajra civil hospital, where it she was found five months pregnant.
The police were alerted and the accused was arrested in March 2021. The accused was charged under the aforementioned IPC and POSCO Act sections on August 2, 2021. But he claimed innocence and opted for trial.
During trial, he prayed to the court that he had no criminal past and also had a two-year-old sister in Assam, with no other guardian to take care of her.
On Friday, a fast-track court had sentenced a 28-year-old Dhanas resident to rigorous life imprisonment till death for raping a seven-year-old girl in Togan village in August this year.
