Chhattisgarh man gets 20 years imprisonment for raping toddler

A special court in Raipur Tuesday sentenced a man to 20 years in jail for raping a one-and-half year old girl last month. Additional District and Session Judge (VII) Rajeev Kumar sentenced Mukesh Vishwakarma (22) to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000, Special Public Prosecutor Gajendra Sonkar told PTI.

He would undergo an additional year of punishment if he fails to pay the fine, the SPP added. On February 25, the accused, who lives in the victim's neighbourhood in Telibandha Police Station area here, asked her mother to leave the child with him while she was going for some work, he said.

The accused then took the child inside a room in his house and sexually exploited her, Sonkar said. When the victim's mother returned, she found the accused's house locked from inside following which she started looking for her daughter in the locality, he said.

When she went to the accused's house again, she found her daughter crying. After she noticed injuries on the minor's private parts, she confronted the accused and filed a police complaint, Sonkar said.

Vishwakarma was booked under sections 376 (rape) and 342 (wrongful confinement) of IPC and under relevant Sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and was immediately arrested, he said.