LUCKNOW: A special POCSO court in Bahraich on Monday sentenced a 16-year-old convict, who was a minor at the time of the offence, to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping a 15-year-old girl and causing her to become pregnant.Special Judge (POCSO Act) Arbind Kumar Gautam convicted the accused under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000, with an additional one-year imprisonment in case of non-payment.Special District Government Counsel Sant Pratap Singh said the incident took place in December 2021, when the survivor was 15 years and 11 months old.The survivor’s brother registered an FIR at Dargah Sharif police station on June 22, 2022, under Sections 376 (rape), 120-B and 506 of the IPC.The convict was arrested on June 24, 2022, and sent to jail. Later, the survivor’s medical and supplementary medical reports were examined, and her statement was recorded before a magistrate.Bahraich SP Vishwajeet Srivastava said that during the investigation, the relevant evidence was sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Gonda. Police filed a charge-sheet under Sections 376, 504 and 506 of the IPC and Sections 3/4 of the POCSO Act.Dr Anuradha Mishra, a medical officer at CHC Risiya, was a medical witness. She was present on June 22, 2022, when the survivor was medically examined at the District Women’s Hospital in Bahraich. Her testimony formed part of the prosecution evidence presented before the court.The prosecution said the accused repeatedly raped the survivor after threatening her and promising to marry her. She later became pregnant and informed her family when the pregnancy had advanced.The court noted that the survivor’s educational records established that she was a minor. Medical examination also found her to be around seven months pregnant, while an ultrasound showed a live pregnancy of 28 weeks and four days.The judgment also recorded that DNA testing conducted after the child’s birth found the convict and the survivor to be the biological father and mother of the child, Singh said.Quoting the court order, SDGC Singh said that as the accused was 16 at the time of the offence, the court said he could not be sentenced to death or life imprisonment under the Juvenile Justice Act.“He is currently around 20 years old and has been ordered to be kept at a Place of Safety until he turns 21, after which his rehabilitation and social reintegration will be assessed in accordance with law,” SDGC Singh said.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
