Noida: A Pocso court sentenced a 28-year-old man to 20 years of imprisonment for a 16-year-old girl in 2018.
The accused, worked at minor's father's garment shop. On the day of the incident, the girl was found inside the convict's room after she went missing from school. The survivor's father filed an FIR against him on October 13, 2018, leading to his arrest.
Her father explained, "My daughter went to school that day and did not return till afternoon. When I visited the school, I found she did not attend school that day. I suspected his involvement and visited his house in the neighbourhood. When I knocked on his door, he opened it after about ten minutes. He appeared scared and did not answer clearly if my daughter was at his house. I searched his room and found my daughter in the washroom. He hid my daughter there and locked the door from outside."
The survivor informed the court that she left for school but went to her aunt's place that day. "When I was returning home in the afternoon, he met me on the way and said that my parents were at his home for some work and I should also go there. I believed him and reached there and found that my parents were not there. He then raped me and locked me in the bathroom when my family members reached there in search of me," she said. Dr Ajay Rana, who performed the minor's medical examination, said that there was no mark of external or internal injury found on the her body. According to the report, spermatozoa was found in her body.
Meanwhile, defence lawyer Reshram Chaudhury argued that his client was framed in this case and also presented a defence witness, a neighbour, who said the convict's worked at the girl's father shop and "his salary was not cleared, due to which there was some dispute," he said. Saurabh Dwivedi, special judge, Pocso Act, convicted the man and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 80,000 under Section 4 of the Pocso Act on Friday.