Dehradun: 3-year jail for footballer who eloped with 17-year-old lover at 18

DEHRADUN: A Pocso court in Dehradun has sentenced a young footballer to three years of rigorous imprisonment for "kidnapping" a 17-year-old girl he met during sports training. The girl, who had travelled to Dehradun with her father to appear for the NEET exam in July 2022, eloped with him.

Monu Kumar, then 18, met the girl at a sports stadium in Joshimath, where both trained regularly. After the NEET exam, the girl, then 17.5 years old, went willingly with Monu to Delhi via Bijnor, where the latter's parents lived, and stayed there for six days before contacting the Delhi Police to share their story. The police in Delhi informed the Uttarakhand authorities, and the couple was brought back to Dehradun.

Monu was charged under IPC sections 363 (kidnapping), 366A (procuration of a minor), and 376 (rape), along with sections under the Pocso Act. Despite the girl not supporting the prosecution, the additional district and sessions court (Pocso Act) of Judge Archana Sagar acquitted Monu of rape but convicted him of kidnapping.

Monu's lawyer, Sailendra Nath, told TOI, "He was only 18 when they mutually decided to be together. Even the girl didn't support the prosecution's case. We are planning to challenge the verdict in the high court."

During the trial, the girl testified that after finishing her NEET exam, she and her father went to a hotel. They checked out early the next morning and headed to the bus stand, where she told her father she needed to use the restroom. She then boarded a bus to Bijnor with Monu. The couple spent one day there before travelling to Delhi the next day.

She also informed the court that during their six-day stay, Monu never engaged in physical intimacy with her. The doctor who examined the girl reported that no conclusive signs of rape were found on her body. Along with three years of imprisonment, the court also imposed a Rs 10,000 fine on Monu and ordered state govt to pay the girl Rs 1 lakh as compensation.


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