Gurgaon: Three years after he abducted and raped a 13-year-old neighbour in Panipat, a court sentenced a 21-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, terming the act as "highly condemnable".
The court said perpetrators of such offences need to be dealt with a "stern" and "heavy" hand.
The survivor and the complainant, the father of the victim, did not record their statements before the court, but it went ahead and convicted the accused on the basis of police investigation and medical reports.
Additional session judge of the fast-track court (POCSO) of Panipat Sukhpreet Singh, in his order dated Nov 6, observed that a close analysis of the facts and circumstances of the case and the nature of the evidence available unequivocally establish the accused as the perpetrator of sexual assault on the survivor.
"The testimony of prosecution witnesses inspires complete confidence of the court and is duly corroborated by medical and scientific evidence and it is sufficient to convict the accused," the court said, while awarding 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000.
The court also directed to pay compensation of Rs 1 lakh for the rehabilitation of the survivor under the scheme of NALSA through the District Legal Service Authority.
On Aug 20, 2021, the father of the victim filed a complaint with the police alleging his daughter was kidnapped by the accused, who lived opposite his house.
An FIR was registered on Aug 20, 2021 at Old Industrial police station in Panipat under Section 365 of the IPC.