Rajasthan: Man gets 20-year jail term for raping minor
A POCSO court in Rajasthan's Bundi district has sentenced a man to 20-year imprisonment and slapped a penalty of Rs. 35,000 for raping a 15-year-old girl, Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Mahaveer Meghwal said on Friday. The court on Thursday afternoon convicted Chothamal Bheel (25) from Sumerganjmandi town under Indergarh Police Station of Bundi district, for raping the minor girl in November 2019.
The case was lodged on November 7, 2019
The minor lodged the rape case against Bheel on November 7, 2019. She alleged that he raped her at night while she was asleep alone in her room as her parents were in the adjoining room, the SPP said.
He broke into her room; choked her with cloth
Meghwal said in the report the girl stated that Bheel broke into her room from the rooftop, choked her with a piece of cloth, and took her to the next room where he raped her. She said she eventually managed to untie the cloth over her mouth and screamed following which her parents rushed to the room; however, Bheel had fled.
He was initially arrested but later released on bail
The police lodged the rape case under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. The SPP said the police, following initial investigation and medical examination of the minor, had arrested Bheel and submitted a charge sheet in the court against him, but he was released on bail.
Statements of nine witnesses were recorded during the trial
The POCSO Court Judge Arun Kumar Jain on Thursday afternoon held Bheel guilty of the rape of the minor under sections of IPC and POCSO Act and convicted him to 20-year imprisonment. "The convict was then sent to jail," Meghwal said, adding that statements of nine witnesses were recorded and 16 documents were produced before the court during the trial.
