30yo farmer gets life in jail for raping minor in 2022

Agra: A Pocso court in Firozabad district has sentenced a 30-year-old farmer to life imprisonment for raping a 14-year-old girl from his village four years back. Additional district and sessions judge Mumtaz Ali also acquitted two of his associates due to lack of evidence.According to the prosecution, the minor was working in a field on Oct 23, 2022, when the accused raped her. "He repeated the assault multiple times, impregnating her. He then administered pills to cause an abortion and later buried the embryo in the same field. He also threatened her with dire consequences if she told anyone," the prosecution counsel said. After learning of the crime, the survivor's mother filed a complaint against the accused and two of his associates, and a case was registered against them under IPC sections 376D (Gang Rape), 313 (causing miscarriage without the woman's consent), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 506 (criminal intimidation) along with the Pocso Act.All three were arrested and sent to jail, and a chargesheet was submitted in court. A few months later, they were granted bail. Additional district govt counsel Awadhesh Bhardwaj on Tuesday said that after the trial, the court acquitted the two co-accused, citing lack of evidence. The convict was thereafter taken into judicial custody. "After hearing both sides and examining evidence, witness testimonies and the medical report, the court on Monday found the man guilty under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 506, and the Pocso Act. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.1 lakh on them and instructed an additional six months in jail if he fails to pay it," Bhardwaj added.