UP: POCSO court convicts man for raping 7-year-old girl

Bahraich (UP), Nov 19 (PTI) A POCSO court here has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 53,000 on him, for raping a seven-year-old girl, police said on Tuesday.

On September 30, 2021, the girl’s father lodged a complaint under Motipur police against Islam, Superintendent of Police Vrinda Shukla said.

He alleged that on September 28, 2021, his seven-year-old daughter was alone at home when Islam came to his house and raped her, Shukla said.

According to the SP, when the girl screamed, the accused fled from the spot and later abused and threatened her family about the incident.

The officer said that after registering a case under sections of the 376 IPC regarding the the incident, the police also filed a chargesheet before the court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on December 13, 2021.

Special Government Advocate (POCSO) Sant Pratap Singh said that Additional District Judge (POCSO Act) Deep Kant Mani on Monday held Islam guilty, and sentenced him to a rigorous imprisonment of 20 years.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 53,000 on him, Singh said.

If the fine is not paid, the accused will have to undergo an additional imprisonment of ten months, he said, adding that the court has recommended that the fine amount be given to the victim.