Gzb: 60-yr-old man gets 20 years jail for raping 4-yr-old neighbour

Ghaziabad: A court in Ghaziabad on Monday awarded 20 years of rigorous imprisonment to a 60-year-old man for raping a four-year-old neighbourhood girl at his house in June, 2022, the prosecution officials said on Tuesday

Ghaziabad: A court in Ghaziabad on Monday awarded 20 years of rigorous imprisonment to a 60-year-old man for raping a four-year-old neighbourhood girl at his house in June, 2022, the prosecution officials said on Tuesday.

According to the prosecution officials, the victim and the convict were neighbours in a locality that falls under Vijay Nagar police station. The incident happened on June 8. (Representational image)

According to the prosecution officials, the victim and the convict were neighbours in a locality that falls under Vijay Nagar police station. The incident happened on June 8.

“On the day of the incident, the accused lured the girl to his house in the afternoon on some pretext and raped her. The accused was aged 56 at the time of the incident and is now aged 60. The court awarded him 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and also slapped a penalty of ₹50,000 against him,” said Satish Kumar, special public prosecutor (Pocso).

Initially, an FIR under the IPC section 354(a) for sexual harassment, also under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, was registered on June 9.

On June 29, 2022, the IPC section 354(a) was replaced with section 376(ab) (rape committed on a woman (girl) under 12 years of age), and relevant sections of the Pocso Act were also updated after the girl’s statements before a magistrate.

The victim’s father in his statements before the court testified that he and his wife started looking for their daughter after she did not return home that day.

“My wife also knocked at the gate of the house of the convict. But the door was locked. My wife looked inside from the window and saw our daughter lying on a sofa, and the convict also standing nearby in a semi-naked condition. My wife shouted for help, and soon many neighbours arrived outside the house. The convict then opened the door, and he was nabbed,” the statements mentioned in the court order said.

On Monday, the court pronounced its final judgement.

“The convict resides near to girl’s house and assaulted her. Such an act creates insecurity among people living nearby, and also leads to trust issues towards neighbours. The convict is aged 60. While considering the circumstances, his social and economic condition, he is fit to be awarded imprisonment of 20-years and also a penalty,” the court headed by Poonam, special judge (Pocso Act) said in the order.