A court dealing with sexual crimes against children on Wednesday jailed a man for 20 years for raping a minor girl in Botad town of Gujarat in May 2021.
The court of special POCSO Judge VB Rajput held accused Pintu Solanki guilty of raping the minor and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, district government pleader KM Makwana said.
The court also ordered a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the survivor under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), he said.
Solanki was an acquaintance of the girl’s family and would visit them. On the night of May 25, 2021, he reached the minor’s home and stayed back. When the girl’s parents woke up around midnight, they found their daughter missing.
“When they started looking for her, she came running to them and narrated her plight and accused Solanki of kidnapping her and taking her to an isolated place to rape her. Solanki had escaped, but was later nabbed by the police,” Makwana said.
Solanki was booked under Section 376 (3) of the Indian Penal Code (raping a minor) and the POCSO Act, Makwana said, adding that the prosecution produced and examined 17 witnesses and submitted 29 documentary proofs as evidence.
