Pratapgarh: In a first in the state of Uttar Pradesh, a Special POCSO Court here on Thursday sentenced a convict of a rape case to life imprisonment within a span of 10 days. This is the first time that a court has declared the quantum of punishment in such a short span of time, as claimed by public prosecutor Devesh Chandra Tripathi.
A special court bench headed by Pankaj Kumar gave the verdict in a rape case of a minor on Thursday, while also imposing a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict identified as Bhupendra Singh, a resident of Kirawa Mauaima. The case dates back to August 12, when the convict was accused of raping a 6-year-old girl from the Nagar Kotwali area.
A complaint was registered in the local police station on August 13 and was moved to the POCSO Special court on September 3, with the accused in police custody. The trial in the case began on September 12, while the evidence proceeding also commenced a day later, on September 13.
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As the case moved forward, the police could present about eight witnesses who testified against the accused in court by September 16. The very next day, the court recorded a statement by the accused Bhupendra in the matter and by September 20, the court had concluded all the arguments in the matter.
One day down the line, on September 21, the court convicted Bhupendra of the alleged crimes. On the tenth day, on Thursday, the court pronounced the quantum of punishment and declared life imprisonment for the convict.
As informed by the government advocate Devesh, the accused Bhupender had claimed to be a minor on September 17 during the proceedings in the POCSO court, filing a petition to reduce his punishment. He had also submitted his educational certificates to the court, but an investigation had concluded the certificates to be fake, thereby declaring his petition to be baseless.
