Rajkot: The court of additional sessions judge A R Rana in Junagadh on Tuesday sentenced a 26-year-old man, Ajay Gohel, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 15-year-old girl in 2021.The crime took place in the early hours of May 12, 2021. According to the prosecution, Gohel, a labourer living in Dolatpara who worked at the same mill as the victim, contacted her around 2.30am and asked her to meet him outside her house. He then took her on his motorcycle to the Bhavnath Road area, where he established physical relations with her against her will. The next afternoon, he dropped her off near the booking office of a private bus service. A complaint of kidnapping and molestation was initially registered by the victim’s mother. During the investigation, police learned that the victim had also been raped. At trial, the defence argued that the victim accompanied the accused willingly and that they were in a romantic relationship, which her mother opposed because they belonged to different faiths. The court acquitted Gohel of kidnapping and abduction charges (IPC Sections 363 and 366), noting that the prosecution failed to prove he forcibly took her from her guardian’s custody. The court reiterated that a minor’s ‘consent’ has no legal validity. Gohel was 21 years old at the time of the crime. “Relying on the victim’s testimony, corroborating medical evidence and her legally established age of 15 years and two months at the time of the crime, the court found Gohel guilty under IPC Section 376(3) and sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act,” said district govt pleader N K Purohit. For the primary offence, Gohel was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000. Recognizing the mental trauma suffered by the girl, the court also directed the District Legal Services Authority to provide Rs 4 lakh in compensation under the Gujarat Victim Compensation Scheme. Seventy-five per cent of the amount is to be placed in a fixed deposit for three years, while the remaining 25% will be deposited in her bank account.
