35-year-old man gets 20 years in prison for raping 15-month-old in Greater Noida

The convict is the girl’s uncle, and was charged to take care of the child by her parents when he committed the crime, the order copy said

A special Pocso (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court in Gautam Budh Nagar on Saturday sentenced a 35-year-old man to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping a 15-month-old girl in Greater Noida in March 2021.

After hearing the arguments presented by the defence and the prosecution, the court pronounced the man guilty. (Representative Image)

The convict is the girl’s uncle, and was charged to take care of the child by her parents when he committed the crime, the order copy said.

According to the prosecution, the incident happened on March 23, 2021, when the girl’s parents, who are daily wage earners, went to work leaving the infant with her mother’s sister and her husband at their home located under Beta-2 police station limits.

“According to the complainant, when the girl’s mother came home around 10.20am from work to check on the baby, she saw her sister’s husband fleeing the house on seeing her. When she checked on her child, she found her bleeding from her private parts. The woman called her husband home and told him about what happened, following which a complaint was submitted at the Beta-2 police station,” the order summary said.

On the basis of the complaint, an FIR was registered against the man, under Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Pocso Act. Later, on the basis of the medical examination of the girl, Section 377 (unnatural offences) of the Indian Penal Code was added to the FIR.

The case went to trial on May 20, 2021.

After hearing the arguments presented by the defence and the prosecution, the court pronounced the man guilty. On Saturday, during the sentencing, Chandra Mohan Srivastava, special judge (Pocso court) observed, “By being a relative and living with the minor victim as a guardian, the accused has not only committed a social crime of extremely heinous nature but has also committed a crime which brings shame to the social and family relationship and tarnishes mutual trust and confidence in relationships.”

The judge further ordered, “Sahni is convicted and sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and ₹50,000 fine under Section 376-AB (rape on a woman under twelve years of age) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 5/6 of the Pocso Act,” he said.

Noida police commissioner Laxmi Singh said the conviction of the accused within two and a half years of the crime became possible due to the timely and accurate submissions of evidence by the police investigator.

“Under “Operation Conviction” being run by the Uttar Pradesh director general of police, timely conviction in rape cases is being done and all police stations have been directed to not waste any time in filing the charge-sheet, and to submit timely and accurate evidence in order to convict the arrested accused,” said Singh.

Chavan Pal, special public prosecutor, said 80% of the fine imposed on the convict will be paid to the infant as compensation. “Further, the judge directed that the survivor should get compensated under the victim compensation scheme and a copy of the order has been sent to the secretary, district legal services authority, Gautam Budh Nagar,” he said.