Meerut Man Gets Life Term Till Death For Sexually Assaulting Nine-Month-Old Baby

Man gets life term till death in rape case: A 20-year-old man was sentenced to life till death by a special Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) court at Bulandshahr in Uttar Pradesh for raping a nine-month-old baby. The incident took place in the month of July this year and the trial in this case was wrapped up in five months.

The sentence was pronounced by Justice Pallavi Agarwal, who wrote in the court order, "the accused will remain in jail till his last breath," while also imposing a fine of Rs 50,000.

What was the case

On July 18, 2021, a case was filed by the survivor's family at the Khurja Dehat police station against the accused. According to a statement by the survivor's mother, the accused picked the survivor from her lap and took the infant under the pretext of playing with her.

Suggested Reading: 99 Per cent Of POCSO Cases Waiting For Trial In Courts: Report

When the accused returned the infant, the child's pant was soaked in blood. The survivor had to undergo two surgeries because her private parts were injured severely due to the assault.

After the case was registered at the police station, the accused was charged under section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and under the provisions of the POCSO Act. Senior Superintendent of Police Bhuandshahr Santosh Singh told TOI that a joint team headed by SHO of Khurja Dehat police station was formed to investigate and the charge sheet was filed within 21 days.

Recently, the Araria POCSO court in Bihar reportedly gave the fastest verdict in a rape case. The trial with witnesses arguments, counter-arguments and convictions were done just in a day. POCSO special judge Shashi Kant Rai was hearing the rape case of an eight-year-old child. In the judgement, the judge gave the convict a life imprisonment sentence along with Rs 50,000 fine. Read more.

According to a report by the Praja Foundation data, there is a huge pendency in the cases of crime against children. A total of 16,667 cases of crime against children were before courts in 2020, out of which 99 percent is still pending trial.