Noida: A man arrested for kidnapping and raping a minor was convicted of attempted sexual assault and sentenced to six years in prison after medical tests ruled out sexual violence.The accused, Manoj Kumar, allegedly kidnapped his minor neighbour on March 22, 2021. A complaint was submitted by the girl’s grandmother two days later, accusing Kumar of kidnapping. After the girl was rescued, police sent her for medical tests, which did not indicate sexual assault, but filed an FIR charging him under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 363 (kidnapping).During the trial, the girl told the court that Kumar promised to buy her chocolates but took her to his village in Azamgarh. When she woke up at his house the following day, the girl found herself undressed and the accused lying beside her.The defence argued inconsistencies in the girl’s statement, but special prosecutor Utkarsha Vatsa countered that her account remained consistent before the magistrate and the court.Additional sessions judge Neraj Gautam examined the medical evidence in detail. The doctor who conducted the examination confirmed the survivor had no external injuries and her hymen was intact, ruling out sexual assault. The court noted that while the prosecution could not establish rape, evidence showed Kumar had stripped the minor and touched her in violation of IPC section 354A (outraging modesty) and Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.“Although the prosecution evidence establishes that the accused did not commit rape, he did strip her naked as per her statement under Section 164 CrPC. The victim also told the doctor the accused touched her,” the judge held.The court found Kumar guilty of kidnapping under Section 363 IPC and convicted him under Section 354A IPC and Section 8 of the Pocso Act instead of rape charges.Kumar was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment for kidnapping and four years under the Pocso Act, with both sentences to run concurrently. Time already spent in custody was adjusted against the sentence. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000, directed entirely towards the survivor’s education and rehabilitation.
