Latest news with #POCSO)Act
New Indian Express
15 hours ago
- New Indian Express
POCSO-accused tribal youth gets Madhya Pradesh HC reprieve
BHOPAL: The MP High Court has commuted the death penalty of a 20-year-old tribal man convicted of rape in Khandwa district, reducing his sentence to 25 years of imprisonment. In 2023, a trial court had found him guilty of raping and attempting to murder a 4-year-old girl. Hearing the petition challenging the April 2023 Khandwa district's Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act court's order rendering the youth death sentence, a two-judge bench of Justices Vivek Agrawal and Devnarayan Mishra held that though raping a four-year-old innocent child and strangling her and throwing her in a deserted place is a cruel act, considering the family background of the youth, the death sentence is not appropriate. 'Hence, the sentence imposed upon the appellant for the offence punishable under Sections 363, 450, 307, 201 of the Indian Penal Code is affirmed, but his sentence for the offence punishable under Sections 6 of the POCSO Act is converted from capital punishment to the rigorous imprisonment of 25 years with the fine amount of Rs 10,000…' 'Sentence not apt' The court said though raping a girl is cruel, considering the family background of the youth, the death sentence is not appropriate. 25 year RI & Rs 10,000 fine His sentence has been converted from capital punishment to an RI of 25 years with a fine of Rs 10,000.
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Hindustan Times
Government teacher arrested for raping minor in Rajasthan's Jalore: Police
A government teacher was arrested for his involvement in the rape of a minor girl on Wednesday night in Rajasthan's Jalore district, police said. The minor girl said that the accused first raped her four months ago and had been continuously exploiting her since then. On Wednesday late night, when she was alone at home, the accused entered her house and attempted to rape her. However, hearing her cries, neighbors reached the house and rescued her. In the meantime, the accused fled from the scene. Following this, she approached the police and lodged a case. Anu Choudhary, station house officer at the women police station, confirmed the report adding that a case has been lodged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, as the girl was a minor when the accused first allegedly raped her. Police stated that they have lodged the case and initiated an investigation into the matter. Police identified the accused as Mangla Ram (41). Also Read: Delhi minor rape: Cops exhume body of girl's child to establish DNA link, cause of death According to the minor girl's complaint, her neighbour, who had been living with her family, forcibly raped her and filmed obscene videos of her four months ago. This incident allegedly occurred when the accused's wife was not home, and he had called the minor to cook at his home. The minor further alleged that the accused then began to blackmail her, threatening to publicly release the videos if she spoke about the incident. Mohanlal Garg, the in-charge of Bagra police station, stated that the minor is presently 18 years and two-months-old, who was married on May 28. After her marriage, she returned to her parents' home. On Wednesday night, with her two brothers not at home, the girl and her unwell mother were at home. At around 9:15pm, the accused allegedly entered their house and went directly to the girl's room, where he attempted to rape her. The girl's screams alerted neighbors, who rushed to the house, after which the accused fled. Following the incident, the girl and her family went to Bagra police station the same night and registered a case of rape. Given that the girl was a minor when the first instance of sexual assault occurred four months ago, the case has been registered under the sections of the POCSO Act. Police have confirmed that a first information report (FIR) has been lodged in the case. 'The girl's medical examination will be done, and her statement will be recorded,' said police officials. 'While the accused teacher was initially absconding and a search was launched, he has since been arrested', the officer said.
India Today
2 days ago
- India Today
Peon, 55, arrested for raping two 11-year-olds at Pune children's home
A 55-year-old peon, Ramesh Dagdu Sathe, has been arrested for allegedly raping two 11-year-old students at a children's shelter in Pune. The incident occurred on June 7 but was revealed only after the victims confided in the shelter's reports indicate that Sathe tied the hands of the minors, stuffed cloth in their mouths and sexually assaulted them. He allegedly threatened to kill the children if they spoke about the case was initially registered at Ghodegaon Police Station but later transferred to Lonikand Police Station and filed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The manager of Sahyadri Adivasi Gramin Vikas Pratishthan, which runs the shelter, noticed the children's disturbed behaviour and loss of appetite. After gentle questioning, the victims disclosed the assault, leading the manager to inform the children, placed in the shelter under the Child Welfare Committee's (CWC) orders, are now receiving counselling to help them recover from the Commissioner of Police Himmat Jadhav confirmed the arrest and assured that investigations are underway to ensure justice is served.
NDTV
2 days ago
- NDTV
Doctor Rapes Minor, Intruder Tries To Sexually Assault Student On Same Campus In Madhya Pradesh
Dewas: A 35-year-old doctor has been arrested for allegedly raping a patient on the campus of a private medical college in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district, police said on Thursday. A second case has been registered after an intruder tried to sexually assault an MBBS student at knifepoint on the same premises, an official said. According to Bank Note Press police station house officer Amit Solanki, Dr Roopam Jain had called a 17-year-old girl, who had met him with her parents for a medical condition two months ago, for a check-up and counselling on Tuesday. Jain allegedly took the teenager to his residence inside the campus of the Amaltas Institute of Medical Sciences on Dewas-Ujjain Road and raped her, the official said. The doctor was arrested on Wednesday for rape and other counts under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Solanki said. In the second case, an unidentified person allegedly entered the girl's hostel on the same premises and tried to rape an MBBS student on Tuesday night. The person sneaked into a student's room through an air duct when she was sleeping. He held a knife to her throat and tried to rape her, the official said. Showing presence of mind, the student pretended to be fainting and asked him to fetch water, the Inspector said. When the man went to get water, she escaped and raised an alarm. The intruder, however, managed to flee, the official said. A second FIR has been registered and a probe is underway, he said. Suresh Bhadoria, director of Amaltas Institute of Medical Science, said that Dr Jain was dismissed on June 5 following a few complaints against him. He said the hospital is cooperating with the police. On Thursday, students from the medical college protested, demanding better security on the campus and the arrest of the person who entered the girls' hostel.
News18
2 days ago
- News18
'No Leniency In POCSO Cases': Chhattisgarh HC Upholds 20-Year Jail Term For Minor's Gangrape
Last Updated: Citing SC precedents, the high court said a rape survivor's statement, especially sexual assault cases concerning children, need not be corroborated if it inspires confidence The Chhattisgarh High Court upheld the conviction and 20-year jail term to three men for the gangrape of a 13-year-old girl during a wedding celebration in Kondagaon district. The bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru dismissed their appeals, observing that the trial court had rightly convicted them under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. 'Any act of sexual assault or sexual harassment to the children should be viewed very seriously and all such offences of sexual assault, sexual harassment on the children have to be dealt with in a stringent manner and no leniency should be shown to a person who has committed the offence under the POCSO Act," the division bench wrote in a headnote to the judgment. The incident took place on April 26, 2019, when the girl and her friend stepped out of a crowded wedding venue in Makdi village to go to a nearby field. The survivor testified that four men dragged her away and took turns to rape her while keeping her friend restrained. She later identified the accused – residents of nearby villages. She had seen their faces in the light from their mobile phones, and was also helped by residents of Ambal village from where the groom's party was visiting. The day after the crime, she lodged a complaint with the Kondagaon police and, based on her statement, a case was registered under Sections 376D and 506 of the Indian Penal Code along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act. The minor's testimony was consistent and detailed. She clearly described the attack and identified the accused. Her medical report showed a torn hymen and vaginal injuries. Forensic tests determined semen stains on her underwear and the undergarments of the accused. Doctors confirmed that all three accused were capable of sexual activity and fresh injuries were noted on two of them. The defence, however, argued that the case was built solely from the girl's version, pointing to alleged contradictions and claiming false implication. It questioned the absence of immediate corroboration, lack of injuries on the accused, and challenged the method used to determine the girl's age. But the court was not convinced by these arguments. Referring to school admission records, the court held that the girl was 13 years old at the time of the incident, with the case attracting the POCSO provisions. The defence had offered no proof to rebut this. Citing Supreme Court precedents, the high court said a rape survivor's statement, especially sexual assault cases concerning children, need not be corroborated if it inspires confidence. 'A girl or a woman in the tradition bound non-permissive society of India would be extremely reluctant even to admit that any incident which is likely to reflect on her chastity had ever occurred," the court observed. It added: 'She would be conscious of the danger of being ostracised by society and when in the face of these factors the crime is brought to light, there is inbuilt assurance that the charge is genuine rather than fabricated." Calling such crimes 'a degradation not only of the body but also of the soul", the court said there was no reason to interfere with the lower court's findings. The conviction is supported by consistent eyewitness testimony, medical findings, forensic confirmation, and absence of any credible defence, the bench said while dismissing the appeals. First Published: June 19, 2025, 23:24 IST
