Man gets 10-year term for abducting, raping minor girl in Delhi

New Delhi, Aug 5 (PTI) A court here has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a 12-year-old girl nine years ago, saying the gruesome crime called for stringent punishment.

Additional Sessions Judge Judge Sushil Bala Dagar was hearing the case against the 28-year-old man, who was earlier convicted for the penal provisions of rape and kidnapping and under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Additional Public Prosecutor Yogita Kaushik Dahiya, who appeared for the state, said the incident took place in the national capital in 2015.

The convict had kidnapped the minor girl, put vermilion on her forehead in a temple and forcibly established physical relations with her on several occasions, Dahiya said.

"In the present case, the convict has moved ahead in life having got married and having a child, there is no question of showing any leniency to him. Apart from the fact that the law provides for a minimum sentence, the crime committed by the convict is gruesome which calls for stringent punishment," the court said in its verdict dated July 29.

It said that the convict misled the victim into believing that she was entering a legal marital union and committed aggravated penetrative sexual assault in the garb of a physical marital union.

"In a patriarchal society as in our country, everyone is quick to blame the victim child involved in any such incident of penetrative sexual assault and seduction by the culprit for illicit intercourse. Rather it is the convict, who is responsible for the heinous crime with the victim, on whom the full blame ought to lie," the court said.

It said that the sentence should be commensurate with the gravity of the "loathsome act" so that it served as an "effective deterrence." The court then sentenced the man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) under the POCSO provision.

It also sentenced him to seven years RI for the offences of kidnapping, abducting or inducing a woman to compel her marriage and two years RI for not appearing in response to a proclamation.

The sentences will run concurrently, the court said.

It also awarded the victim Rs 10.5 lakh as compensation, saying the incident had left a grave impact on her mental, physical and emotional well-being for which she required financial support. PTI MNR RPA