18-yr-old gets 20 yrs in jail for sodomy in Kota

Kota: A POCSO court in Kota on Wednesday convicted an 18-year-old youth to 20 years in jail for sodomy with a seven-year-old boy of his neighbourhood in Ramganjmandi police station area of Kota district over a year ago. A fine of Rs 20,000 was also imposed on the convict. However, POCSO court special judge Mohammed Arif ordered that the convict be put in safe custody till he turns 21 and that counselling sessions be arranged for him to ensure his educational, intellectual and behavioural development.
Public prosecutor Dhirendra Choudhary said the convict, then aged 16 years and 9 months, had committed sodomy after luring the seven-year-old boy out on the pretext of buying him a kite in September 2021. The victim’s uncle had lodged a report at Ramganjmandi police station on September 14, 2021.
A case was registered under Section 377 of IPC and relevant sections of the POCSO Act against the accused and taken him into custody after an investigation. He was sent to a shelter home, added Choudhary. The chargesheet was filed before the juvenile justice board three days later, and the case was transferred to the POCSO court on January 29, 2022. tnn