KOTA: A POCSO court in Baran on Tuesday sentenced two persons to life for abducting and raping two minor girls for nearly two months in March 2015. The court imposed a penalty of Rs 1 lakh on each convict.
"Naresh Panchal (25) and Sheru alias Shahid (24), both residents of Anta town of Baran district, were sentenced to life term for abducting, confining and raping two minor girls," said special public prosecutor (SPP) Mahesh Tyagi.
"The father of a 15-year-old girl had lodged a report in Anta police station on March 21, 2015 alleging that his daughter and her friend (16) were missing from home for a day. He suspected the neighbours identified as Naresh Panchal and Sheru of abducting them as the girls were last seen with these youths," Tyagi said, adding that police lodged a case under sections 363 and 366 of IPC and initiated investigation.
The two minor girls were rescued after around two months from separate places in MP and Gujarat following which the police incorporated sections of rape and POCSO Act and arrested the two accused, he said.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)