Bihar: Siwan youth gets 20-year imprisonment for raping minor

PATNA: A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences court of judge Manoj Kumar Tiwary of Siwan on Friday sentenced one Mahendra Singh (26) to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 12-year-old minor girl at village Bhataulia under Mufassil police station area in Bihar's Siwan on September 8 last year.
The sentence was awarded to Mahendra even after victim and her family members had turned hostile during the course of trial.
Special public prosecutor (POCSO Act) Naresh Kumar Singh said that Rs 1 lakh fine was also slapped on the convict by the court.
“75% of the amount would go for medical assistance and rehabilitation of the victim. In case of non-payment of fine, the convict would have to undergo one year additional punishment,” he said.
Singh said the victim used to live with her maternal grandparents as her parents had died.
“She had gone to attend the nature’s call in the wee hours of September 8 when Mahendra had dragged her to a nearby maize field after gagging her and raped her,” he said.
Singh said the victim and her family members had turned hostile during the course of trial but even then the court awarded the punishment to Mahendra believing that she, being a minor, and her family members were gained over by the convict. He said medical report said her private parts had injuries and court relied on it heavily.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)