UP man gets 20 years' RI for raping 8-year-old girl

AGRA: A Pocso court in Agra has sentenced a 21-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping an 8-year-old girl in 2022. The judgement was delivered on Wednesday by the court of Special Pocso Judge Shiv Kumar-II, who said that “justice demands a punishment fitting to the crime.

” In addition to the sentence, a fine of Rs 24,000 was imposed on the convict, with an additional year of imprisonment stipulated if the amount is not paid. Spacial Prosecution officer Madhav Sharma said that on Oct 30, 2022, the child was reportedly playing outside her maternal grandmother's house when the accused, a resident of the same neighborhood, lured her with a toffee and took her to his home, where he sexually assaulted her.

The incident came to light when the girl narrated the traumatic episode to her mother. An FIR was registered at the Shahganj Police Station under Section 376 of IPC (rape) and the Pocso Act on Nov 1, 2022, by the girl’s father, who works as a labourer. The accused, who also worked as a labourer, was subsequently arrested. The chargesheet was filed on January 19, 2023. ADGC Sharma said the accused has been in jail since the incident.

During court proceedings, the accused appealed for leniency, claiming he was a young man with his entire life ahead of him and that this was his first crime, but the court dismissed these arguments and slapped him with a 20-year sentence. The court also directed that the amount received by the state from the convict is to be provided to the girl's family for her rehabilitation.(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)