25-year-old man gets life term for raping 7-year-old girl in Greater Noida

On Tuesday, Chandra Mohan Srivastava, additional sessions judge (Pocso 2) convicted Lalu Yadav on charges of rape and provisions of the Pocso Act

A special Pocso [Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act] court in Gautam Budh Nagar on Tuesday sentenced a 25-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping a seven-year-old girl in 2021 in Surajpur area of Greater Noida.

According to JP Bhati, special public prosecutor, the incident happened on July 9, 2021 at the victim’s residence in Surajpur area. (Representational Image)

The convict, identified as Lalu Yadav, a native of Badaun district, was working as a daily wage labourer at the victim’s house in 2021 and had lured her away after offering her chocolates, the court said.

According to JP Bhati, special public prosecutor, the incident happened on July 9, 2021 at the victim’s residence in Surajpur area. In his complaint, the girl’s father said, “Construction work was being carried out on the terrace of my home by the suspect. My wife and I had gone to the market to get construction material. The child was left at home with her grandfather. Around 10.15am, my daughter was on the ground floor drawing room watching cartoons on phone while my father was napping in the bedroom. The offered my daughter a chocolate and asked her to come with him upstairs. There, he raped her after which my daughter came downstairs crying and narrated the ordeal to her grandfather. By that time, Yadav had also come downstairs and was trying to flee. However, he was caught by neighbours after my father shouted for help.”

“On the basis of a complaint by the girl’s father, an FIR was registered at the Surajpur police station under sections 376 (rape), 376AB (rape with woman aged 12 years or below) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the SC/ST Act and POCSO Act against Yadav,” said the prosecutor.

During the hearing, the defence lawyer argued that the allegations are untrue. “The suspect told the court that the child’s father owed him a paymen of ₹10,000, which he refused to pay. When the suspect asked for payment, he was beaten up and a fake rape complaint was submitted against him by the victim’s father,” the court papers showed.

However, the suspect failed to provide any witnesses to support his statements.

On Tuesday, Chandra Mohan Srivastava, additional sessions judge (Pocso 2) convicted Lalu Yadav on charges of rape and provisions of the Pocso Act and sentenced him to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹50,000. He was, however, acquitted of charges under SC/ST Act.