Man gets 20 years in jail for raping minor in Rajasthan’s Kota

Kota, September 14

A POCSO court in Rajasthan’s Kota district on Tuesday sentenced a man to 20 years’ imprisonment for abducting and raping a minor tribal girl in 2019.

POCSO court judge Mohammed Arif held Kalu Meghwal (22), a native of Birgadi village in Rajgarh district of Madhya Pradesh, guilty under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and also imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 on him, public prosecutor, Dhirendra Choudhary said.

The convict worked as a daily wage labourer in the industrial area in Ramganj Mandi town and in March 2019, he abducted the 15-year-old girl belonging to Bheel community and raped her at several places, Choudhary said.

The father of the rape survivor lodged a complaint against Meghwal at Ramganj Mandi Police Station on March 7, 2019 following which the police initiated an investigation and rescued the girl 11 days later on March 18, 2019, he said.

On the bases of the statement by the minor, police lodged a case against Meghwal and arrested him on May 27, 2019, Choudhary said.

A charge sheet against Meghwal was submitted in the POCSO court in June 2019 and statements of at least 17 witnesses were recorded during the trial, he said. — PTI