Raipur (Chhattisgarh) February 21 (ANI): A Fast Track Special Court in Raipur on Tuesday convicted a youth for abducting and raping a minor girl and sentenced him to 20 years of Rigorous Imprisonment.

The court of Additional District and Sessions Judge, II FTSC (POCSO) Raipur Rakesh Kumar Som pronounced a 20-year-old youth identified as Khelan Nirmalkar, a resident of village Khilora under Mujgahan police station in Raipur, guilty of abducting and exploiting a minor girl sexually and awarded him 20 years RI, said Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) Yasmeen Begum.

The court has imposed Rs 9000 as a fine on the convict, she added.

The SPP further elaborated that Nirmalkar was awarded 20 years RI each under sections 4(2) and 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act along with fines worth Rs 6000. Similarly, the court convicted Nirmalkar under section 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, etc) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and awarded him five years RI along with Rs 2000 as a fine. The court has awarded two years RI along with Rs 1000 fine to the convict under Section 363 (kidnapping) of IPC.

All the punishments will run concurrently, said SPP Yasmeen Begum, elaborating that the court has recommended compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the rape victim.

According to the prosecution, on 25 October 2021, the victim's father lodged a complaint with Mujgahan police station in Raipur informing that his minor daughter was untraceable since 23 October.
Taking prompt action, the police registered an offence and launched a search for the missing girl. On October 26, police managed to rescue the girl from Nirmalkar. In her statement to police, the victim alleged that Nirmalkar had exploited her several times between October 23 and October 26. Based on the victim's statement, police registered an offence against Nirmalkar under various sections of the IPC and POCSO Act. (ANI)