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Man gets 20 years of imprisonment for raping minor

The Court also ordered that the “period for which the convict has remained in judicial custody shall be deducted from the period of imprisonment awarded to him
11:46 PM Jan 25, 2025 IST | D A Rashid
man gets 20 years of imprisonment for raping minor
Man gets 20 years of imprisonment for raping minor
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Srinagar, Jan 25: A fast-track court here sentenced a man to 20 years of imprisonment for raping a minor girl in 2020 after convicting him for the offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Presiding officer fast track court for POCSO cases Aarti Mohan, awarded a simple imprisonment of 20 to Fazil Saleem Bhat of Batwara Srinagar for the offences under section 3/4 of POCSO Act.  The Court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict and ordered that the same be awarded to the victim as compensation if realised.     In case the convict fails to make the payment of fine, he shall undergo further imprisonment for three months, the court said.

The Court also ordered that the “period for which the convict has remained in judicial custody shall be deducted from the period of imprisonment awarded to him.

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The prosecution case was based on a complaint made on March 9, 2020 by the father of the victim that his 9-year-old daughter was sexually assaulted after she went to buy biscuits from Bhat’s shop.

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According to prosecution the accused shopkeeper had taken the minor to 2nd floor of the shop and committed rape upon her.  After the registration of the case, investigation followed which culminated in the charge-sheet in the court against the accused.

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The court convicted the accused after it came to the conclusion that the prosecution succeeded in proving its case against him beyond reasonable doubt. It, accordingly, sentenced the convict.

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The court also forwarded the case to Member Secretary J&K SLSA for award of Rs 3,00,000 as compensation in favor of the victim.

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The Court recommended the case to the J&K SLSA after it noted that perusal of the file revealed that the victim had not been awarded any compensation for the mental, physical and psychological trauma she and her family has undergone due to the commission of offence against her.  The Court ordered that a copy of its order be sent to Secretary DLSA Srinagar for forwarding the same to Member Secretary J&K SLSA.

In its judgement, the court observed that the child sexual abuse is a serious problem and a large number of cases have been emerged where the children are being subjected to physical, emotional and the most heinous of all, sexual abuse.

“The crime against the children by way of sexual harassment not only affects the child’s physical and psychological health but also has a devastating effect on the society as well the family of the victim,” it says.