Man sentenced to 15 years in prison for raping and kidnapping a minor in Noida

Both the accused and the survivor belong to the same village. Greater Noida resident Mohit was accused of abducting a 16-year-old girl and then raping her in April, 2017.

An FIR was registered in connection with the case at the Dankaur police station at the time under sections 363, 366 and 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the POCSO Act. While Defence Counsel Naresh Chand Gupta prayed for minimum punishment for the accused, Special Public Prosecutor Jai Prakash Bhati argued for no leniency and maximum punishment since it was a “very grievous offence” against a minor.

Judge Vikas Nagar passed an order that the convict be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of 10 years and a fine of Rs 50,000 imposed on him in the offence under section 4 of POCSO Act. Additionally, the convict was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of five years and a fine of Rs 5,000 in the offence under section 366 of IPC.

The judge also ordered that the convict serve both original sentences concurrently and that 85% of the fine imposed upon the convict shall be paid to the expenses for rehabilitation of the victim for meeting the rehabilitation expenses of the victim. During the hearing of the case, the court found a discrepancy about the age of the victim, with her father claiming she was 13 years old at the time of the incident while her educational certificates and medico legal report showed her to be around 16 years old.

However, the court noted that in either situation, the survivor was a minor at the time of the offence against her.