The court of District Judge one and Special POCSO Court Dinesh Kumar convicted a man charged with sexually assaulting a minor girl and sentenced him to 12 years of rigorous imprisonment. The convict was slapped with a penalty of 50,000, and in case he failed to deposit the amount, he would be sentenced to imprisonment for another year.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by the victim, the accused was her neighbour. On 20 March 2023, at approximately 7:00 PM, Anoop Mehta approached her when she went to a canal to relieve herself. He allegedly seized her hand, forced her to the ground, and pressured her into sexual activity. Despite her resistance, he forcibly raped her.
Based on the victim's statement, the Bardiha police registered FIR number 24/2023 under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Following the FIR registration, the police investigated the case and filed a charge sheet under Section 376 and Section 4 of the POCSO Act.
The Public Prosecutor led the prosecution with 7 witnesses and documents including the medical reports. While defence produced four witnesses.
After considering arguments from both sides, the court found the accused guilty and sentenced him to 12 years' imprisonment under Section 4 of the POCSO Act. Furthermore, a fine of Rs. 50,000 was imposed. Non-payment of the fine will result in an additional year of imprisonment for the accused.