Rajkot: A special Pocso court in Bhuj sentenced a 22-year-old man from Pune to prison for the rest of his natural life after convicting him of repeatedly raping a minor after threatening her, misusing her photographs on social media and pressuring her to convert to another religion.Special Pocso judge J A Thakkar convicted Jiyad alias Samir Latif Sheikh, a resident of Kalthan village in Pune district, of aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act; Sections 3 and 4 of the amended Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act; rape and criminal intimidation under the IPC and offences under the Information Technology Act.Two other accused — Kasam Osman Hingoraja and Altaf Juma Lakha — were acquitted after the court held that the prosecution had not proved their alleged role beyond reasonable doubt.This case was registered at Kutch (West) Cyber police station on Oct 16, 2024.The prosecution submitted that a few years earlier, when the victim was 17 years old and living with her family in Dombivli, Mumbai, she had connected with the accused through an online multiplayer game. Sheikh deliberately concealed his religious identity and introduced himself as a Hindu boy named ‘Jigar’.The virtual connection soon turned into daily phone conversations, with the accused gradually gaining the girl’s trust by sending religious Hindu photos and establishing a romantic relationship. Under the guise of friendship and with false promises of marriage, the accused met the victim in Dombivli, where he forced himself on her and repeatedly raped her when she was home alone. During these assaults, he secretly clicked obscene photographs of the girl.When the victim pressured the accused for marriage, he revealed his true identity. He told her to abandon her faith, convert to Islam and perform a nikah at a mosque.When the minor refused to convert, Jiyad threatened to upload the obscene photographs to the internet and sully her reputation. The victim then ceased contact and relocated with her family to their native town of Mandvi in Kutch,Despite the victim’s attempts to move on, the harassment continued. The victim’s family arranged her engagement to a man in Gujarat. On discovering this, Jiyad posted objectionable pictures of her on social media which broke her engagement.Special public prosecutor H B Jadeja said, “The court order noted that India is home to people of many different religions, and if incidents of this kind continue to occur and keep increasing, they pose a serious threat to society as a whole, the nation, and every faith.”The court also recommended that the District Legal Services Authority pay Rs 4 lakh to the survivor under the victim compensation scheme.
