Lucknow: A local court in Bahraich has sentenced a rape convict to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh in a case in which a woman was allegedly sexually exploited for a year on the false promise of marriage.The conviction was secured under the Uttar Pradesh Police’s ‘Operation Conviction’ campaign, which aims to ensure speedy prosecution.The sentence against Shubham Pandey (28) was pronounced by Sixth Additional Sessions Judge, Bahraich, Jamal Mohammad Akbar under the charges of section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.The case was registered at Kotwali Dehat police station on July 16, 2020, after the survivor’s grandfather lodged a complaint. He informed police that his granddaughter had consumed sleeping and blood pressure pills to end her life and was admitted to the District Hospital in Bahraich.The survivor alleged that Shubham, a native of Barabanki, had been sexually exploiting her for nearly a year by promising to marry her.She said that he harassed her which drove her to take the extreme step.Based on the complaint, police registered a case of rape of the IPC against the accused. The charge sheet was filed on July 25, 2020, while the court framed charges on Aug 27, 2021.“Conviction was achieved through effective monitoring,” said Bahraich SP Vishwajeet Srivastava. The prosecution was led by ADGC Sunil Kumar Jaiswal.
