Chandigarh: Youth convicted after 2 years in rape case of minor

Chandigarh: A local court has convicted a youth in a two-year-old case registered under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court will pronounce the sentence tomorrow. The accused was booked on July 25, 2022, on the complaint of the minor victim. She told the police that she lives in the city with her family and studies in Class X in a government school. She said that in December 2021, she became friends with the accused, who lives in her neighbourhood. In June 2022, when she was at his house, the accused forcibly had physical relations with her and later assured her that he would marry her. She alleged that the accused threatened her that she would have to face serious consequences if she told anyone about the incident.

The accused then continued to forcefully have physical relations with her by intimidating her. During the investigation, the accused was arrested. After the completion of the investigation, a challan was presented in the court against the accused. Finding a prima facie case, charges were framed against the accused under sections 376(2)(n) and 506 of the Indian Penal Code and section 6 of the POCSO Act, to which the accused pleaded innocent and demanded a trial. The counsel for the accused claimed that he was falsely implicated in the case and there was an unreasonable delay of three days in filing the FIR. The public prosecutor claimed that the prosecution had proved the case. After hearing arguments, the court convicted the accused.