Maharashtra man gets 7 years RI for kidnapping, raping minor

A district court has sentenced a man to seven years of rigorous prison for kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old girl of his locality. The man was convicted under Sections 363 (kidnapping) and 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code.

Thane: A district court here sentenced a 25-year-old man to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a 14-year-old girl from Wada taluka in Maharashtra's Palghar district.

In an order passed on January 28, district and special POCSO judge R R Vaishnav convicted Rakesh Hiralal under sections 363 (kidnapping), 376 (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The judge sentenced the accused to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and also fined him Rs 4,000.

Additional public prosecutor Ujjwala Moholkar informed the court that the accused, who hails from Dausangabad district of Madhya Pradesh, lived in the same locality as the victim and worked in a factory there.

In March 2016, the victim left her home on the pretext of going to school and instead met the accused, Moholkar said.

The minor's parents, who went in search of her, discovered a love letter she had written to the accused and lodged a complaint of kidnapping against him with the local police, she said.

The duo, who were on the run, subsequently ended up in Bengaluru, where they were nabbed by the police, she said.

The court observed that the prosecution had proven that Hiralal had taken the minor victim away from the lawful guardianship of her parents and raped her.

With inputs from PTI