Life term till last breath for tantrik who raped, blackmailed minor Dalit girl

Agra: A 30-year-old tantrik has been sentenced to rigorous life imprisonment until his last breath by an Aligarh court for raping and blackmailing a 16-year-old Dalit girl for over two years. He used obscene videos he had recorded of the minor to blackmail her and threatened to kill her family members.In a complaint filed in Sept 2024, the girl's father said the tantrik frequently visited their home to treat his ill son and exploited this access to repeatedly rape his daughter for nearly two years. "One day, my daughter told me that the tantrik molested her. He had physical relations with her and made a video, which he used to blackmail her," he said. The father added that on Sept 11, the tantrik came to their house and "threatened to take away my daughter, set the entire house on fire, and would not leave anyone alive". He also alleged that the tantrik took the girl to hotels and raped her there. "My family is living in fear and terror," he wrote in his complaint. Based on the complaint, a case was registered under BNS sections 64 (rape) and 351-1 (criminal intimidation), along with provisions of the Pocso Act and the SC/ST Act. The man was arrested shortly thereafter and has remained in judicial custody. A chargesheet was filed weeks later. After hearing both sides, additional district and sessions judge (Pocso court) Abhishek Kumar Bagaria on Friday sentenced the convict to life imprisonment until his last breath, said additional district govt counsel (ADGC) Mahesh Singh. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 65,000.