Punjab school bus conductor to stay in jail till death for raping 4-yr-old

On November 28, the court had convicted Kumar and acquitted three others — school in-charge Babita and two management members Jiwan Jain and Tarsem Lal.

Nearly six months after the rape of a 4-year-old student of a private school in Dhuri, the district and sessions court in Sangrur on Monday awarded life imprisonment to the 27-year-old accused bus conductor, Kamal Kumar. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 1.10 lakh on him.

The court said there would be no remission in the sentence of the convict. (airdone)

On November 28, the court had convicted Kumar and acquitted three others — school in-charge Babita and two management members Jiwan Jain and Tarsem Lal.

“The bus conductor took the girl to the bathroom of the school when her mother was busy in the parent-teacher meet and committed the heinous crime with her. The court sentenced Kumar to five years under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC, along with Rs 10,000 fine. The convict was sentenced to imprisonment till his natural death and Rs 1 lakh fine under Section 376-AB (rape) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act,” said Narpal Singh Dhaliwal, counsel of the victim girl.

“There will be no remission in the sentence and 80% amount of the fine will be given to the victim. My client is satisfied with the verdict,” he added.

As per FIR, the kindergarten student was raped on the school premises on May 25, 2019. The accused was arrested next day as widespread protests erupted in the town. The police also arrested the school in-charge and two management members later.