25-year-old gets 10-year jail term for raping minor

A 25-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping a 14-year-old girl in December 2016 and threatening her.

A 25-year-old man was sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly raping a 14-year-old girl in December 2016 and threatening her.

The women’s police station in Sector 51, Gurugram, had registered a case against the convict for raping a minor, on December 17, 2016. He was arrested the same night from his shanty, the police said. (Reuters File)

Additional sessions judge Rajni Yadav sentenced the man on Wednesday and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for aggravated sexual assault, punishable under Section 4 of the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and rape. He was also sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for one year and fined Rs 10,000 under Section 506 (threatening for life) of the IPC.

“For these dastardly acts, he deserves no sympathy or leniency,” the judge observed. The man was sentenced to a further year of rigorous imprisonment for failing to pay the fine.

The women’s police station in Sector 51 had registered a case against Rinku, a native of Koki in Madhya Pradesh, on December 17, 2016. He was arrested the same night from his shanty, the police said.

“The court considered the facts and circumstances, coupled with the aggravating factor that a gruesome act was committed by the convict, by which he had not only defiled the body of the victim but also put an indelible mark on her personal life, which shall haunt her throughout her life,” the court order stated.

Vinod Kumar, the assistant public prosecutor, said the girl was outside her house on December 10 two years ago when the accused approached her and asked her to accompany him. He also threatened to kill her parents if she did not agree to his terms and raped her in the Devi Lal Park in Sector 56. The police, in its chargesheet, stated that he had raped her again between December 10 and 16.

The man had denied the allegations and accused the victim of falsely implicating him due to the influence of her family. The court dismissed the man’s plea and held him guilty.

Kumar said the girl had been terrified and threatened, due to which she could not disclose anything to her parents. She was spotted crying in the classroom by her teacher, after which she narrated her ordeal to her and the incident was reported to police.

The public prosecutor argued that sexual assault upon minors is increasing in the society, whereby the mental and physical development of the children get affected. He asked for a stringent punishment under the POCSO Act so that it may act as a deterrent.

The accused has been in jail since December 2016, when he was arrested.