Dilip Padhiyar, a 24-year-old POCSO convict is on the run with a 14-year-old girl after he was granted a regular bail in a similar case from the Gujarat High Court.
The incident occurred in November last year, after which the girl’s father filed a complaint with Vedach Police Station. He then approached the High Court with a habeas corpus petition and alleged that the cops aren’t doing much to trace his daughter, despite the FIR.
The court took cognisance of the issue and directed the Bharuch Superintendent of Police to conduct an investigation into the matter and produce the minor before the court before July 20, as reported by Times Now.
It further asked the state government to initiate proceedings for cancellation of the convict’s bail.
Padhiyar, a native of Uchchhad village in the district’s Jambusar Taluka, had earlier been on the run with a minor girl in 2016. He was tried in a special court under the charges of rape and abduction under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
He was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2018. Later, it was commuted since the girl was above 16 years of age and had not accused him of rape.
In 2019, he challenged his conviction in the High Court and secured a regular bail.
