Taking a strict stance on crimes against minor girls in Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh, the special POCSO court based in Dharamshala has given an important verdict. Here, the court has sentenced an uncle who was found guilty of committing obscene acts with his own minor niece and mentally torturing her, to three years of rigorous imprisonment. Along with this, financial penalty has also been imposed on the accused.
According to the information received, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Vijay Lakshmi in the Fast Track Special POCSO Court located at Dharamshala in Kangra district gave this decision after completing the hearing of the case.
The court, taking into account the available evidence, statements of witnesses and the seriousness of the case, convicted the accused. The court has also ordered the accused to pay a fine of Rs 10,000 along with jail sentence. The court has clarified in its order that if the convict does not pay the fine within the stipulated time, he will have to undergo additional simple imprisonment of one month.
The matter is of the year 2023. During investigation, it came to light that a minor student resident of Dehra area was going to school as usual on 20 November 2023. Meanwhile, a person who appeared to be his uncle stopped him on the way and called him to his shop.
The accused took the student into confidence and asked her to drop him to school and made him sit in his car. But instead of taking him to school he took him to an isolated place.
According to the prosecution, after reaching a deserted place, the accused committed obscene acts with the minor. When the victim protested, the accused tried to intimidate her. Not only this, he also threatened to face serious consequences if anyone informed about the incident.
After the incident, the minor showed courage and reached home and informed his family about the entire incident. Taking the matter seriously, the family immediately contacted the police. After receiving the complaint, the police registered a case under various sections including the POCSO Act and started investigation.
During the investigation, the police collected necessary evidence and presented the charge sheet in the court, after which the regular hearing of the case began. During the hearing in the court, the prosecution presented its case strongly.
During this period, statements of a total of 21 witnesses were recorded. On the basis of the testimony of witnesses, the statement of the victim and the documentary evidence presented by the police, the court came to the conclusion that the charges against the accused are proved.