Elderly man sentenced to 20-year rigorous imprisonment in POCSO case

Advertisement

Chandigarh, September 6

Swati Sehgal, Special Judge, Fast Track Court, Chandigarh, has sentenced a 67-year-old man to undergo 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) after convicting him in a POCSO case.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 30,000 on the convict. In default of payment of fine, the convict will further undergo rigorous imprisonment for 2 years.

On a complaint of the victim’s mother, the police registered a case against the accused. The victim’s mother, a permanent resident of Pratapgarh district in Uttar Pradesh, told the police that she, along with her family, resides in a rented accommodation in Chandigarh.

Her elder daughter aged six years told her that the accused, who resides in their vicinity, made her sit in an auto parked in their lane and did wrong act with her around 11 pm on May 9, 2019. She further disclosed the incident to her husband.

The police arrested the accused after registering a case against him for the commission of offences punishable under Sections 376-AB of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012.

After investigation, the police filed a chargesheet against the accused. The court framed the charges against the accused to which he accused pleaded not guilty.

The counsel for the accused argued that he was falsely implicated in the case. The public prosecutor said the prosecution had proved the case beyond the shadow of doubt.

After hearing the arguments, the court convicted the accused while observing that “sexual assault in any of its manifestation is degrading, humiliating and monumental blow upon self-esteem, dignity, respect, honour and confidence of a child victim”.