A fast-track court in Jammu on Tuesday awarded eight years’ rigorous imprisonment to a man convicted of raping a minor girl in 2014. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Gharu Ram alias Bittu of Tikri Rakwala in Jammu. The court, presided over by judge Khalil Choudhary, further ordered that the convict shall undergo simple imprisonment of two years for kidnapping the girl and one year for trespassing into the victim’s house. Holding that all the sentences shall run concurrently, the judge also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000 on both these counts, respectively. His co-accused, Sunil Kumar alias Kokar of Dhai Chak Gho Manhasa, was sentenced to four months and a fine of Rs 10,000. According to the prosecution, the 15-year-old girl was returning home on the fateful day when the two accused forcefully kidnapped her in a red Maruti car. They later took her to an unknown place from the road of Gho Manhasan and sexually assaulted her. Based on a complaint by the victim's family, the police registered an FIR at Domana Jammu police station. The girl was found in a jungle area, while the police later arrested the accused. After investigation, the police established the offence under RPC sections 376 (rape), 363 (kidnapping) and 452 (house trespass), besides section 363 (kidnapping) and 109 (abetment of offence). Subsequently, a charge sheet was filed on March 15, 2014, against the accused. The case was subsequently transferred to the fast-track court for trial of rape cases on May 25, 2021. After hearing both sides, the court on Monday convicted the accused, ruling that the evidence on record “unerringly point towards the guilt of the accused”. Upon defaulting on the payment of the fines, the court ordered that Gharu Ram shall undergo further imprisonment for a period of two months for rape and one and half months for kidnapping, and one month for trespass. “In default of the payment of fine, the convict (Sunil Kumar) will have to undergo further imprisonment for a period of fifteen days in offence u/s 363/109 RPC, the court held, adding that the period of detention of the convicts, during investigation and trial of the case, shall be included as part of the sentence. The judge observed that “It is not only the duty of the court, but social and legal obligations are clearly enjoined upon it to impose adequate punishment according to law while taking into consideration not only the crime, but also the criminal.”
