Khandwa (Madhya Pradesh): A special court under POCSO Act in Khandwa, on Thursday, awarded 10 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) to a man, Nitesh Jhawari, from Diyantpura for raping a minor girl. The judgement was pronounced by special judge Prachi after finding the accused guilty under section 376 (rape) of the IPC and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
According to public prosecutor Rupesh Tamoli, the incident had taken place on April 28, 2020. Nitesh, who was the girl's neighbour, took her to an isolated spot on the pretext of marriage and sexually assaulted her. She was later rescued from Sanawad.
The girl later named the accused and her parents lodged a complaint against him with the Dhangaon police station, he said. The accused was immediately apprehended under relevant sections of the IPC and the POCSO Act. The police completed the investigation and presented the chargesheet to the court.
The special court judge found the accused guilty of the crime on the basis of a DNA report that confirmed accused Nitish raped the victim. Besides the 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on the accused.
