Vadodara: ‘Incidents of sexual exploitation of children are on the rise, especially cases of sexual assault by a relative on a child. A victim of sexual assault has to narrate the painful incident several times, including to the parents, police officials, magistrate and govt prosecutor, and such cases must be handled with sensitivity,’ a court in Chhota Udepur observed, while sentencing a man to 20 years in jail for raping a girl.In 2023, the parents of the 14-year-old girl filed a complaint against Bharmesh Nayka at Jetpur Pavi police station in Chhota Udepur, for kidnapping their daughter and raping her. The complainant said that after kidnapping her, Nayka took her to Bhuj and Rajkot, where he raped her repeatedly.Police tracked down Nayka, a labourer, and arrested him. “The accused said he was in a relationship with the girl. As she was a minor, she is unable to consent. The court considered all the evidence and convicted Nayka under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act,” said the public prosecutor, R S Parmar.Special (Pocso) judge Jaspritsingh Bagga sentenced Nayka to 20 years’ imprisonment and ordered that compensation of Rs 4 lakh be paid to the victim.
