Man gets life sentence for raping minor girl in Varanasi

Varanasi (UP), Dec 15 (PTI) A special court in Varanasi on Monday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping a 13-year-old girl and imposed a fine of Rs 1.35 lakh on the convict, officials said.

Special public prosecutor Sandeep Kumar Jaiswal said the court of Special Judge (POCSO Act-III) Vinod Kumar convicted the accused under the relevant sections for rape and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court also directed that the fine amount be given to the survivor as compensation, Jaiswal said.

According to prosecution lawyers Pankaj Srivastava and Deepak Vishwakarma, the victim’s mother, who lives with her husband and children, worked as a domestic help.

When her elder daughter was studying in Class 5 and was about 13 years old, the accused lured her into a relationship and raped her repeatedly, leading to pregnancy when she was in Class 6.

In 2011, the man allegedly abducted the girl. The next morning, the girl’s parents got information that she was locked inside the man’s house.

The family, along with relatives, rescued the girl, who appeared frightened and disturbed. Later, after persuasion, the girl revealed that the man had been raping her for a year. PTI COR ABN ARI