Surat: A special Pocso court in Vapi on Saturday convicted 28-year-old Munnakumar Shrivastav for repeatedly raping and impregnating a 12-year-old girl in April 2024 and sentenced him to 20 years’ imprisonment.The court of Harshvadan Vakil, special judge for Pocso cases, also ordered compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the survivor and Rs 5.50 lakh to the child born to her. The minor delivered a child on Dec 31, 2024, and the child is currently being raised by her family.District govt pleader Anil Tripathi said the conviction was based on the survivor’s statement, despite the DNA report being negative. “The survivor named the convict in her statement,” Tripathi said.In its judgement, the court observed that the survivor had named the accused and stated that he had sexual relations with her more than once, resulting in pregnancy. The court also noted that if proper investigation and questioning had been carried out, the names of other accused persons could have been revealed.According to the FIR registered at Vapi town police station on Dec 10, 2024, the accused dragged the girl into his house and raped her three times between April 1 and April 30, 2024. Later in the year, the minor complained of health problems. During a medical examination, she was found to be pregnant.In her statement, the survivor alleged that Shrivastav had threatened to kill her, due to which she did not disclose the assault earlier. She also stated that when she complained to the accused’s wife, the woman blamed her instead and claimed it must have been her fault. The FIR alleged that the wife helped the accused in the crime.‘State failed in its duty’Surat: The court observed that it was the duty of the state to protect the rights of the survivor and other children and to prevent crimes against them. In this case, the court said, the state had failed to perform its duty. The compensation ordered is to be paid under the applicable victim compensation provisions.
