Man awarded 20-year jail for raping minor

A local court has sentenced a person to undergo 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act five years ago. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict. His co-accused has been acquitted as the prosecution failed to prove the charges.

On the complaint of the victim, the police had registered the case against the accused on December 1, 2019, for the offences punishable under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 4 and 6 of the POCSO Act.

The complainant had stated that while she was alone at her house in Palsora, Chandigarh, one of the accused raped her. He had threatened her not to disclose the incident to anyone. After few days the other accused violated her when she was alone at her house. He threatened her that if she disclosed the incident to anyone, he would kill her.

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

Harish Bhardwaj, the counsel for the accused who has been acquitted, stated that the accused was falsely implicated in the case. After hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defence counsel, the court convicted one of the accused and pronounced the sentence.