Army commandant gets life imprisonment for raping 11 year old girl, court says not an ordinary crime

An Army commandant convicted of raping a minor girl was sentenced to life imprisonment 10 years after the crime. The girl remained silent for six years as she was threatened by the accused.

Agra:An Army commandant allegedly raped an 11-year-old daughter of a senior officer and made a video of the act in Agra. The girl did not tell anyone about her ordeal for six years. Finally, after attending a workshop on Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in school she mustered courage to inform her parents of the crime.

A case was registered in this regard and its trial was underway. The court of special judge (POCSO) Pramendra Kumar on Thursday convicted the accused, Senanayak N Ghanshyam to life imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs one lakh on him.

During the hearing, the judge stated that this is not any ordinary crime. "The accused, aged 32 years and married committed a crime with an 11-year-old girl. Not only this, he was in the armed forces", the judge added. Kumar further said that the victim was so scared that it took her more than six years to tell her parents.

The incident took place in February 2013. The girl lived in Agra and her father was a high-ranking officer in the Army. Commandant N Ghanshyam, resident of Manipur's Thoubal district used to frequently visit the residence of the Army officer. One day, when the Army officer's daughter was alone in the house, he allegedly raped her. Also, he made a video of the entire act.

The accused then threatened the girl of dire consequences if she told anybody. Out of fear, the girl did not complain to her parents. After some days, the girl's father was transferred from Agra to Bhopal. But, the accused reached Bhopal, where he again raped the girl.

One day, the girl attended a workshop on POCSO Act that was held in her school. During the workshop, the counsellors encouraged victims to raise their voice against such crimes. Inspired by the counsellors, she mustered courage and after returning home, narrated the entire incident to her parents. By this time the girl had turned 18.

In 2019, a case of rape was registered against the accused under POCSO Act in Bhopal's women police station. Madhya Pradesh Police investigated the matter and transferred it to Agra in 2020 as the incident took place there.

Sadar police of Agra collected evidence and filed a chargesheet against the accused. Testimonies of the victim, her mother, father, brother, criminologist Jitendra Kumar Singh, inspector Pramod Panwar and others were produced on behalf of the prosecution. The accused was convicted on the basis of evidence collected by the police and the testimonies of the witnesses.