Indore court sentences 20-yr-old man to life imprisonment for raping minor, forcing abortion

A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) court in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore has sentenced a 20-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping a minor and forcing her to have an abortion. “During the hearing on Tuesday, August 13, the Court of Additional Session Judge (II) and Special Judge (POCSO) Savita Jadia sentenced the accused, Abhishek (20), a resident of Raisen, to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 4,000 under IPC sections 376(2)(N), 313, and sections 5(L) read with 6 and 5(J)(ii) read with 6 of the POCSO Act,” District Prosecution Officer (DPO) Sanjeev Srivastava said. Providing further details about the case, Srivastava mentioned that on March 20, 2021, upon receiving information, a sub-inspector from Azad Nagar police station went to MY Hospital to investigate and record the victim’s statement. “The minor told the police that her father worked at an industry on Nemawar Road, Indore, and had received a flat in the industry’s housing complex from the company, where she lived with her family. The accused also lived in the same complex, in the flat above hers. He used to visit her house, and she had known him since then,” he said. Later, they started talking to each other on the phone and became friends. The accused then lured her on the pretext of marriage and made physical relations with her for the first time in August 2020 at her house when no one was home. After that, they had physical relations 1-2 more times when no one was home, he added. “When the minor came to know that she was pregnant, she informed the accused. He then provided her with abortion medication to end her pregnancy which she took on March 3, 2021, after which her health began to deteriorate. On March 8, 2021, her parents took her to MY Hospital, where the doctor informed them that her health had deteriorated due to the abortion. When her parents questioned her, she narrated the entire story,” he continued. Based on the victim’s statement, a case was registered against the accused at Azad Nagar police station under IPC sections 376(2)(N), 313, and sections 3/4 and 5(L)/6 of the POCSO Act. During the investigation, sections 450 of the IPC and 5(J)(ii)/6 of the POCSO Act, along with sections 3(1)(w)(i) and 3(2)(v) of the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, were added against the accused, the DPO said. Following a complete investigation, the charge sheet was submitted in court. During the hearing, the court convicted the accused, sentencing him to life imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs 4,000