Ghaziabad: A special Pocso court on Monday sentenced a man to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment with a Rs 25,000 fine for raping a four-year-old girl in 2019. Judge Lal Babu Gupta heard testimony from five witnesses, including the girl’s father, and rejected the defence’s argument about the FIR being filed late. The court concluded that since the provision for the quantum of sentence under section 376(AB) IPC was more than what is entailed in section 5/6 of the Pocso Act at the time of the commission of the crime, the convict was sentenced under IPC for 20 years. The court did not find the case to qualify for the rarest of rare categories and refrained from awarding capital punishment.The case dates back to Feb 26, 2019 when the man picked up the girl playing outside her house and raped her in a nearby house.Special public prosecutor Satish Sharma said the complainant informed the court that he was not aware of the incident until his wife informed him about it on March 4, following which he lodged an FIR.After registering the case, police recorded the girl’s statement under CrPC 164 on March 7, 2019, and pursued the culprit’s arrest. The magistrate court took cognizance on May 2, 2019, and charges were framed by Jan 2020. Rejecting the charges, the defence counsel said that there was a substantial gap between the date of occurrence of the alleged crime and the filing of the FIR. The accused denied the charges, claiming the delayed FIR suggested mala fide intent and extortion by the complainant. The prosecution examined the girl, her parents, the FIR scribe, and the investigator. The court relied on the girl’s statement before the magistrate and her court deposition as key evidence supporting prosecution’s case.Having heard both sides, the court awarded 20 years of RI and a fine of Rs 25,000, directing the convict to pay the entire amount of the fine for the rehabilitation of the girl.
