Years after acquittal in child rape case, man gets life term for raping 7-year-old in UP

Shravasti (UP), Oct 4 (PTI) A court here on Friday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for raping a seven-year-old girl, nine years after he was convicted in another case of child rape but acquitted on technical grounds by the Supreme Court, a lawyer said on Saturday.

Additional District Judge (POCSO Act), Shravasti Nirdosh Kumar on Friday held Chhotkau, alias Alauddin, guilty of raping a girl in a village under Ikauna police station area earlier this year.

Additional District Government Advocate (POCSO Act) Satyendra Bahadur Singh said on May 9, Chhotkau, an e-rickshaw driver, took the minor in his vehicle from a wedding ceremony to a secluded area and raped her.

Family members later found the girl far away, crying and covered in blood. The girl's family lodged a complaint at the Ikauna police station.

The girl identified Chhotkau in the identification parade in the court and relevant CCTV footage was checked. A DNA test also matched the accused's samples, the lawyer said.

On Friday, the court convicted him and gave him a life sentence. As per the order, if he does not pay a fine of Rs 3 lakh, he will have to undergo an additional sentence of nine months.

The government counsel said Chhotkau was also sentenced to death by a local court in 2016 for the alleged rape and murder of a six-year-old girl in 2011, a sentence which was confirmed by the high court.

Later, lawyers associated with the NALSAR University of Law, Hyderabad, through a national-level NGO working for human rights, filed an appeal in the Supreme Court, he said.

The Supreme Court acquitted Chhotkau on technical grounds of delay in providing information from the police station to the court, Singh said. PTI COR NAV SKY SKY