Hyderabad: Food delivery executive sentenced to 25 years in jail for raping 4-yr-old

HYDERABAD: A 28-year-old food delivery executive from Saifabad was convicted in a rape case of his four-year-old niece and was sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment on Wednesday.
On January 9, 2021, a doctor of Niloufer Hospital lodged a complaint with Saifabad police stating that they have a four year old girl admitted at the hospital who was suffering from battered baby syndrome. Apart from injuries on her hands, face and legs, the doctors have also noticed injuries on the girl's private parts, indicating chronic sexual abuse.
The medical team collected the forensic evidence and sent it to lab for analysis. After the medical treatment, the statement of the girl was recorded under section 161 of CrPC. "The victim disclosed that her father's younger brother used to physically and sexually abuse her during the absence of other family members," police said.
As the parents of the girl were separated, the custody of the girl was handed over to the child line authorities. The accused was charged under sections 376 (2), 506 IPC r/w 6 of POCSO Act, 2012.
On February 20, 2021, Saifabad police arrested the accused and after a thorough probe, during the subsequent months, a chargesheet was filed. The special court for POCSO Case has examined 15 witnesses during the trial and convicted the accused on Tuesday.
The accused was sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for a period of 25 years and pay Rs 20,000 fine. The fine amount should be paid to the victim girl towards compensation.
As the accused is convicted for the offences punishable under section 6 of the POCSO Act for committing aggravated penetrative sexual assault on the victim, court has directed Metropolitan Legal Services Authority (MLSA) to initiate steps to pay Rs 4 lakh compensation to the victim at the earliest.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)