Mathura (Uttar Pradesh): A court here has sentenced a 47-year-old man to 20 years in jail for raping an 18-year-old mentally unsound woman whose mother used to occasionally hire his services as a driver, a government counsel said Saturday.
Additional district government counsel Subhash Chaturvedi also said the court imposed a fine of Rs 2.20 lakh on the convict and ordered that he will have to spend additional time in jail if he fails to furnish the amount.
The ADGC said the incident happened past midnight on July 9, 2018 when the woman's mother and her two relatives were carrying out Goverdhan Parikrama (circumambulation).
The woman was also walking with them in the religious exercise, but she returned to their car as she felt tired.
All of them, including the driver, had traveled to Mathura from their native Etawah in the car that belonged the woman's mother.
When the woman arrived at the car, the driver was there. The ADGC said the driver raped her inside the car and also took her mobile phone.
The victim later narrated the entire incident to her mother and they confronted the driver, who confessed his guilt on July 11, 2018, the ADGC said.
The woman's mother then filed an FIR at the Mahila Thana (women police station) under various sections of the Indian Penal Code. IPC section 376 (rape) was also added later based on the woman's statement.
"The order passed by Amar Singh, additional special judge POCSO Act, has sentenced Raghavendra Tewari to imprisonment of 20 years with a fine of Rs 2.20 lakh," Chaturvedi said.
The special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act court is also hearing cases of crime against women.
The defense counsel urged the judge to show leniency in awarding the punishment, saying the convict had to marry his two daughters.
However, the ADGC requested the judge to award the accused exemplary punishment as he had raped a mentally unsound woman.
The judge awarded him 20 years in jail and imposed Rs 2.20 lakh fine, saying he will have to spend five more years in prison if he fails to deposit the fine. In that case, the government will give the amount to the victim''s family as compensation, the ADGC said.
