Ghaziabad: A Ghaziabad court on Friday sentenced a 27-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 17-year-old girl in April 2019 while her parents were away. The prosecution lawyers said the court also imposed a concurrent five-year prison sentence for house trespass.
The convict, Sahil Salahuddin, was the girl’s neighbour in a locality within the Loni Border police station limits.
“Accused Sahil is held guilty under IPC sections 376(1) (rape) and 452 (house trespass) and also under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. He is awarded 10 years of imprisonment for rape and a fine of ₹50,000,” the court of Special Judge (Pocso Act) Neeraj Gautam stated in the order on March 20.
It added that the prosecution could not produce any documentary evidence regarding the sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, therefore, the charges could not be proved against the convict.
The girl’s father told the court that on April 15, 2019, his neighbours called to inform him that a thief had broken into their house. “My wife and I had gone to the factory for work. We rushed to the house and found Sahil there. We apprehended him and informed the police, who took him away,” he told the court during the trial.
The doctor who medically examined the girl the next day told the court during the trial that six different injury marks, all sustained within the 24 hours preceding the examination, were found on her body.
Special public prosecutor Harish Kumar told HT: “ Salahuddin was caught red-handed, thrashed by local residents and then handed over to the police. He was booked for rape and house trespass. The court on Fridayfound him guilty and awarded a 10-year rigorous imprisonment.”