Ghaziabad: A man was on Wednesday sentenced by a special court to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for abduction and rape of a 16-year-old girl in Tronica City in 2017.
Special judge (POCSO Act) Mahendra Srivastava found the accused, Shahrukh, guilty under sections 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, besides IPC sections 363 (kidnapping) and 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage). All three sentences – 10 years under POCSO Act, five years under Section 366 and three years under Section 363 -- will run concurrently. The nearly four years that Shahrukh has spent in Dasna jail will be adjusted against the punishment.
A total fine of Rs 75,000 -- Rs 50,000 under POCSO Act, Rs 15,000 under Section 366 and Rs 10,000 under Section 363 -- was also imposed on the man. Half of the amount will be given to the survivor.
Utkarsh Vats, special public prosecutor (POCSO Act), said, “The girl’s mother in her complaint said her daughter used to go to a neighbour’s house to learn another language. On February 25, 2017, the neighbour’s son had fled with her after luring her.”
When the girl did not return home, her family went to the neighbour’s house and asked about her whereabouts. The next day, an FIR against Shahrukh was registered at Tronica City police station. The police traced the girl three days later and she gave a statement before the magistrate that Shahrukh had taken her to a relative’s house and raped her.
Six witnesses had been examined in the case, Vats said, adding that conviction was based on survivor’s statement.