Kerala: Man gets 20 year jail term for kidnapping, raping minor girl

Thiruvananthapuram: A fast-track special court in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday sentenced a 21-year-old man to rigorous imprisonment for 20 years for kidnapping and raping a minor girl here a year ago.

Fast-Track Special Court Judge R Jayakrishnan found Noufal guilty of kidnapping the minor and committing the offences of rape several times.

The crime was registered by the Medical College police station here in 2020. He was found guilty of the crime under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The court said the investigation in the case revealed that in order to satisfy his lust, the accused raped the victim on November 1, 2020 at her house and after abducting her, he committed the offence several times at a resort in a neighbouring district on November 30 the same year.

”For the offence under Section 363 IPC (punishment for kidnapping), the accused is sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for 5 years and to pay fine of Rs 10,000 with a default sentence for six months RI.

”For the offence under Section 5(l) r/w 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012, the accused is sentenced to undergo Rigorous Imprisonment for 20 years and to pay fine of Rs 50,000 with default sentence for one year RI,” the court said.

The sentences shall run concurrently, the court said.

The court ordered the government to provide the fine obtained from the convict as compensation to the survivor.