In a significant verdict, the Sehore district court has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him INR 3,500 for raping a minor girl. This judgment was pronounced by the Special Judge Abhilash Jain of the POCSO court.
According to Special Public Prosecutor Kedar Singh Kaurav, the distressing incident occurred on the evening of September 30, 2022. The victim had gone to visit a temple with her sister and aunt. While her relatives were engaged in singing bhajans, she decided to visit a friend nearby alone. It was during this time that the accused, Dhan Singh Dayma, aged 24 from Khandabad, Budhni, approached her near a local handpump.
Dayma coerced the girl to accompany him and subsequently dragged her to a nearby field where he assaulted her. The perpetrator threatened her life if she disclosed the incident to anyone. Traumatized, the girl returned to the temple and later revealed the ordeal to her sister and aunt. The following morning, she reported the incident at the Budhni police station with her sister and father.
The police conducted an investigation at the crime scene and arranged for the victim’s medical examination and statement under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
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The investigation led to the filing of charges under Sections 376(3), 341, 506 of the Indian Penal Code, and Sections 3/4 of the POCSO Act, and 3(2)(v) of the SC-ST Act. After reviewing the prosecution’s arguments, the court found the accused guilty and imposed sentences for multiple charges, culminating in a 20-year term for the rape under Section 376(3) and a cumulative fine of INR 3,500.
