Greater Noida: Married man gets six years imprisonment for kidnapping minor girl

The man was sentenced to six years’ rigorous imprisonment for enticing the minor girl and taking her to Bihar.

A 25-year-old man was sentenced to six years of rigorous imprisonment for enticing a minor girl in 2014 and taking her to Bihar. The police had recovered the girl after nine days and arrested the accused, Sapan Mandal.

The police had recovered the girl after nine days and arrested the accused, Sapan Mandal. (Representative image)

Mandal is a married man and has two children. “The district court has awarded five years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs5,000 to accused Sapan Mandal under IPC section 363, and six years imprisonment and a fine of Rs6,000 under IPC section 366. The jail terms will run concurrently,” DSR Tripathi, senior prosecution officer, said.

“The court found that Sapan Mandal belongs to Malda district of West Bengal, where the complainant is also from. The complainant was living with his family in Noida and the accused was also living nearby in Sector 9 jhuggi cluster. The accused used to visit the complainant’s house. The accused took advantage and enticed the complainant’s 14-year-old daughter on the promise of marriage and took her to Bihar,” Tripathi said.

The girl’s uncle had seen her going with Mandal. When they could not trace them, an FIR was lodged against Mandal under sections 363 and 366 of the IPC and section 12 of Posco Act. On August 15, 2014, the girl was rescued by the police and Mandal was arrested. The girl was handed over to her parents after her statements were recorded.

“After the court found Mandal guilty, he pleaded for minimum punishment as he has two children and was the only breadwinner of the family. Mandal said the victim has also been married to someone else. The assistant district government counsel told the court that he had forgotten his marital status and children while enticing a minor. He pleaded that Mandal should be given a punishment that will set an example and prove a deterrent for others,” Tripathi said.