13 sentenced 20 yrs in jail for gangraping 15-yr-old girl for 9 days in Rajasthan

KOTA: A POCSO court in Kota, delivering judgment within nine months against 28 accused of gangraping a 15-year-old girl, convicted 13 accused to 20 years in jail with a penalty of Rs 10,000 each on Saturday. Another three were including a woman were sentenced to four years in jail and a fine of Rs 7,000 while the rest 12 were acquitted.

A 15-year-old girl on March 6 this year had lodged a case of rape against several people in Kota district's Suket police station. Taking note of the gravity of the crime, Kota rural police included the case under case officer scheme.

Following investigation, the police on May 7 submitted a 1,750-page charge sheet that narrated the nine-day-long ordeal of the survivor.

In 17-page conviction, the POCSO court-I on Saturday held the 13 accused guilty of rape under Section 376 (3) of the IPC.

Case number 231/21 against four other accused in the matter, who have now turned adults and were recently shifted from juvenile home, is pending, public prosecutor at POCSO court - 1 Premnarayan Namdev told TOI. A woman identified as Bulbul alias Puja Jain and her aide Chouthmal took the minor girl to Jhalawar on February 25, 2021 on the pretext of buying a bag for her. On reaching Jhalawar they handed over the girl to a youth.

After this the girl was repeatedly raped by other for nine days at several places in and around Jhalawar. The matter had made it to newspaper headlines and created political commotion.