Jamshedpur: The court of additional district judge-cum-special court POCSO, Sanjay Kumar Upadhyay sentenced a 26-year-old youth to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI). The court also slapped the convict Rajesh Gope with a penalty of Rs 35,000, failing to pay which he will have to undergo additional three years and three months imprisonment.
According to the prosecution, there were seven witnesses, including the investigating officer in the case.
The incident dates back to September 21, 2021, wherein Rajesh abducted a 13-year-old girl from her house at Panchvati Nagar in Sonari on the pretext of marrying her. After abducting the minor, the convict who would live in the same locality had raped her.
The victim’s father had lodged an FIR with the Sonari police station, leading the police to launch a drive to trace the girl. The victim was, however, recovered from a place in Sonari by Childline five days later. Later on, the statement made by the victim, the police had arrested Rajesh Gope.