Guj court sentences man to life imprisonment for raping 10-year-old girl

A special court on Wednesday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl in Gujarat's Rajkot district.

Special judge D R Bhatt convicted the accused Sunil Arakbanshi of charges under relevant sections of the IPC and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sentenced him to life imprisonment till the last breath.

The accused, who is a labourer, had kept an eye on the girl to find out when she was alone in an accommodation at a labourers' colony in an industrial area at Padvala village of the district, public prosecutor Ghanshyam Dobariya said.

On September 18, 2021, the 24-year-old accused barged into the cabin when the victim was alone, raped her and fled. The girl later told her father about the assault, following which a case was registered at Kotda Sangani police station, he said.

The accused was arrested under sections 4 (penetrative sexual assault) and 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the POCSO Act, and sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 450 (house trespass) of the IPC, Dobariya said.

After considering the statements of witnesses and documentary evidence, the court found the accused guilty and sentenced him to life sentence till his last breath, the lawyer said.

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