New Delhi, Jun 4 (PTI) A Delhi court has convicted a man for kidnapping, raping and criminally intimidating a minor girl in 2022 on the basis of her "reliable" testimony.
Additional Sessions Judge Susheel Bala Dagar convicted the 32-year-old man under Section 4 (penetrative sexual assault) of the POCSO Act apart from Sections 376 (rape), 366 (kidnapping), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation).
Additional public prosecutor Yogita Kaushik Dahiya informed the court that on July 26, 2022, the accused lured the teen survivor on the pretext of marrying her, besides pressuring her and took her to a hotel, raped her, slashed her with a knife and threatened to kill her siblings if she disclosed her ordeal to anyone.
In an order dated May 31, the court said, "Despite knowing that the victim was 13 years and seven months old, i.e., below 18 years of age at that time, the accused seduced her on the pretext of marriage, took her away from the lawful guardianship of her parents and made physical relations with her."
The court found the survivor's testimony as "clear, consistent, trustworthy and unblemished" saying there was nothing that could impeach her testimony on the point committing penetrative sexual assault and other allegations levelled against the accused.
The court said the medical and forensic reports corroborated her testimony.
"The testimonies of prosecution witnesses are found to be trustworthy and reliable, and the prosecution has succeeded in proving the guilt of the accused," it added.