Man gets 10-yr RI in POCSO case

Tribune News Service

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Chandigarh, March 17

Swati Sehgal, Special Judge, Fast Track Court, Chandigarh, has sentenced a person to undergo 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) in a POCSO case after rejecting his plea for leniency to marry a victim. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict.

As per the prosecution, the police registered a case against the accused on a complaint of the victim’s mother on July 18, 2019 for the offences punishable under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012.

The woman told the police said she, along with her husband and children, was residing in a colony in Chandigarh. Her minor daughter told her that the accused called her at his house and developed physical relations with her forcibly. He also asked her not to disclose the incident to anyone.

On the pretext of disclosing the incident, the accused blackmailed her daughter and raped her repeatedly. One day, her daughter complained of abdominal pain. The girl was taken to a doctor where she was found two-month pregnant.

After the completion of investigation, a challan was presented in the court. Finding prima facie case, the court framed charges against the accused for the offences punishable under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012.

The counsel for the accused argued that the accused was falsely implicated in the case. He argued that the prosecutrix was in love with the accused before the incident. As they were neighbours, they used to meet each other. It was even in the knowledge of the families of the accused and the prosecutrix. Both families were ready for their marriage after the prosecutrix attained the age of 18 years. The counsel prayed for leniency in view of the fact that he was married to the victim several months ago and they were living happy married life.

The public prosecutor said the prosecution proved the case beyond a shadow of doubt. After hearing the arguments, the court sentenced the accused to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 10 years after convicting him under the charges framed against him and pay a fine of Rs 10,000.