Court denies bail to Pocso accused

Ahmedabad: A special Pocso court has denied bail to two persons who allegedly abducted and took a 15-year-old girl to Mount Abu after befriending her on messaging application Snapchat. Their argument did not stand that the girl was playing PUBG and therefore could be older than 18 years of age.

Two persons, Yash Barot and Nilay Shah, both 21, had gone to the hill station in December and the girl’s parents lodged a complaint with the Gujarat University police. Barot, who studies in Poland, and Shah were booked and arrested for abducting the minor and charged with inappropriate behaviour under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

Both the accused persons filed bail applications and claimed innocence. They claimed that the girl had willingly joined them on their trip to Abu and there was no coercion. The accused also claimed that the girl was not a minor and in support of their claim they argued that the girl was playing PUBG and therefore she could be presumed to be an adult.