Minor's rapist, now survivor's husband, sentenced to 20 years in jail by POCSO court

Kota (Rajasthan): A POCSO court in Bundi on Friday convicted a man for raping a minor although he married her when she attained adulthood.

The couple now has a one-year-old child. The court also slapped a fine of Rs 80,000 and ordered the convict to pay Rs 4 lakh for the survivor's livelihood for the time he stays in jail and completes his term.

POCSO Court“ I of Bundi city convicted Shetan Meena (24), a resident of Mal Ki Jhopndiyan in Lakheri police station in Bundi district, to 20 years imprisonment for abducting and raping a 17-year-old girl in June 2022, public prosecutor at POCSO Court I, Rakesh Thakur, said.

The father of the minor survivor lodged a missing report in Lakheri police station on June 2, 2022. He suspected Shetan to be the accused in the matter.

Following this, the police carried out a search operation and rescued the minor girl after around a month. They arrested Shetan who was later released on bail, the public prosecutor said.

Shetan married the survivor in Gurugram a year after the crime in 2023 when she became an adult. The couple now has a child.

However, the court took note of the under-aged status of the girl and held Shetan guilty of abduction and repeated rape under the relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act, 2012.

The court awarded 20 years of imprisonment to Shetan. It also imposed a fine of Rs 80,000 upon the convict and ordered him to pay Rs 4 lakh to the survivor for her livelihood for the time his term completes in jail, he added.

Statements of 12 witnesses were recorded during the trial and 29 documents were produced before the court, Thakur added.