Married man gets 10 years jail for raping minor

Vadodara: A 22-year-old man living in Gorwa was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for 10 years on Tuesday for abducting and raping a 16-year-old girl with whom he had a romantic relationship.
The convict Ikram Shah alias Akram Dewan, who was also already married, had lured the girl with promise of marriage and the duo fled to Ajmer on April 10, 2017. While staying at a guest house, Dewan raped the girl. They were found by Gorwa police after some days and brought back to city as the girl’s mother had lodged a complaint.
According to her mother’s complaint, the girl had gone out to buy ice-cream but did not return till late evening. Her parents searched for her at relatives’ homes and other places but could not find the girl. Next day, Dewan’s wife who knew the girl’s family went to meet them to inform that he had not come home since two days and she suspected that her husband had taken the girl away. The girl’s mother then approached police.
After she was brought back to Vadodara, Dewan was arrested and the girl’s medical check-up revealed that she had been raped. Later, during the trial the additional public prosecutor submitted medical and forensic evidence which were upheld by the court of additional sessions judge K M Sojitra.
While convicting Dewan, the court stated that it also took into consideration the fact that Dewan and rape survivor were involved in a romantic relationship. However as the girl was minor at the time of crime, Dewan was convicted and also fined of Rs 13,000.