Kota/Rajasthan: In a case of abduction and rape of a 17-year-old girl, a POCSO court in Rajasthan sentenced a man to 20 years of imprisonment, PTI reported.
The decision in the case was scheduled to be pronounced two months ago. The accused stayed absent from the court on the date of the hearing, following which an arrest warrant was issued against him, the public prosecutor of POCSO Court I of Bundi City, Rakesh Thakur, said.
The POCSO court sentenced a 26-year-old man, identified as Koushal alias Koushal Raj Meena, a resident of Bishanpura village under Bundi Sadar police station, to 20 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,30,000 for abducting and raping a 17-year-old girl in December 2019.
The minor survivor's father lodged a missing report at Bundi Sadar police station on December 15, 2019, and named Koushal Raj of the village as the suspect in her abduction.
The police rescued the minor survivor after a month and arrested Koushal. He was later granted bail. However, he was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 on Friday, Thakur said.
It was only a week ago a special court in Uttar Pradesh's Pratapgarh sentenced a man to jail for 20 years and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 after convicting him of a man raping his minor step-daughter. Additional District Government Advocate (ADGC) Devesh Chandra Tripathi said that the court of Special Judge (POCSO Act) Parul Verma sentenced the guilty step-father Rakesh to twenty years imprisonment and also imposed a fine of RS 50,000.