Youth gets 20 years in jail for abducting, raping minor in Kota

Based on the statement, the police incorporated Section 376 rape of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the POCSO Act in the case already lodged under Section 363 kidnapping of the IPC and arrested the accused.

A special court here has sentenced a 29-year-old man to 20 years' imprisonment for abducting and repeatedly raping a minor last year.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court also slapped the convict with a fine of Rs 40,000.

The POCSO Court–4 of the city convicted the man, identified as Nandkishore Sunar, resident of a village in Suket police station area, for abducting and raping the 14-year-old girl, a co-villager, in February 2022, Public Prosecutor (PP) Dhirendra Choudhary said.

The survivor's father on March 1, 2022 lodged a report of abduction of the girl against Nandkishore. The police rescued the minor on March 4 from Jhalawar, he added.

In her statement recorded under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the survivor alleged that Nandkishore took her to hostels in Kota and Jhalawar. Based on the statement, the police incorporated Section 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and provisions of the POCSO Act in the case already lodged under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC and arrested the accused. Nandkishore had been in jail under judicial custody since then, the PP said.

In its 53-page judgment, the court held Nandkishore guilty of the charges and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment while also imposing a fine of Rs 40,000 on him, Choudhary added.

Statements of at least 18 witnesses were recorded and 33 documents were produced before the court during the trial, he said.