UP’s first conviction under BNS, man sentenced to 20 years for raping minor
A POCSO court in Aligarh pronounced judgment in the case in 30 days after police filed chargesheet
The accused, Bharat Bhushan, was sent to 20 years in prison and a fine of Rs 50,000, out of which 40,000 will be given to the girl’s family. In the first conviction in Uttar Pradesh under the provisions of the newly introduced Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), a POCSO court in Aligarh has sentenced a man to 20 years in jail for allegedly raping a intellectually disabled minor girl.
The verdict was pronounced 30 days after the chargesheet in the case was filed by the police, it is learnt.
Surendra Mohan Rai, special judge of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences court, on Saturday also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the accused, Bharat Bhushan, out of which 40,000 will be given to the girl’s family.
According to the FIR, Bhushan, 40, allegedly lured the minor on July 19 by promising her a candy and Rs 10 before taking her to his house and raping her.
A neighbour grew suspicious when Bhushan took the girl to the terrace of his house. The neighbour then shot a video, which was later submitted in the court and became key digital evidence in the case.
The police registered an FIR the same day after receiving a complaint from the girl’s father and arrested Bhushan the next day. The chargesheet was submitted in the court on September 19 and the trial began on September 21.
Additional District Government Counsel Mahesh Chand said that statements of seven witnesses as well as the digital evidence were recorded during the trial. “The digital evidence was crucial in disposing of the case in a record time,” he added.
The court held Bhushan guilty of rape and also under relevant sections of the POCSO Act. As the BNS and the POCSO Act have provisions for similar sentences, he was found guilty under the POCSO sections, as per the guidelines of the Supreme Court.
“This is the first conviction in the state the BNS, with the efforts of the investigators and the prosecutors,” said Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Suman.
“The case was taken up under the Mission Shakti campaign of the Yogi Adityanath government,” said Santosh Upadhyaya, joint director of prosecution.
The judgment in the case lodged under the BNS sections is the first in the state and only second in the country.
Though a September 4 verdict by a district court in Bihar’s Chhapra in which two youths, aged 18 and 19, were given life sentences in a triple murder case, is being touted as the first conviction in the country under the BNS, it remains to be verified.
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