Jammu (Jammu
& Kashmir), September 15: An accused has been convicted in a case of
kidnapping and rape of a minor girl three years ago. The culprit has been sentenced
on Tuesday to 10 years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) by a fast track court in
Jammu.
The Judge, Honourable
Khalil Choudhary, also sentenced him to seven years of imprisonment for
kidnapping the minor. Both the sentences would run concurrently. The convict
was also fined Rs 25 thousand each, for both the crime, and in case of failure
to pay, he would undergo further imprisonment of three months in each.
“The period
of detention of the convict during investigation and trial of this case is set
off against the sentences awarded to the convict,” the judge said in his
verdict.
The girl was
sleeping in her home and was found missing in the morning of April 2018. A hunt
was launched by the family but all in vain. During search operation, her neighbour
Rakesh Kumar was also found missing. After investigations it was evident that
the girl was kidnapped by Rakesh Kumar. Based on a complaint by the girl’s
father, the local police registered a case under section 363 (kidnapping).
Later the
two were found in Madhya Pradesh’s Ratlam on April 6, 2018.
Post medical
examination of the girl, section 376 (rape) was added to the case and after
completion of the investigations, a charge-sheet under relevant sections was
filed before the court in Jammu on May 31, 2018.
The case was
later transferred to the court of 3rd Additional Sessions Judge, Jammu on June
6, 2018 and then the case went to a fast track court for trial of rape cases.
The judge
said that all the evidence on record “unerringly point towards the guilt of the
accused. There is a complete chain of events to indicate that within all human
probability the crime was committed by the accused and all the circumstances
brought on record and established are consistent with the guilt of the accused
and inconsistent with his innocence.”