Srinagar October 11: In a case of Facebook friendship that culminated into a sexual relationship, marriage and miscarriage of a class 10 girl, the Fast Track Court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases here sentenced the accused for rigorous imprisonment of 20 years and fine of Rs 25000.
Pronouncing the quantum of punishment, Aarti Mohan, the presiding officer of the Court observed that she felt the mitigating circumstances outweigh the aggravating circumstances in the case and the award of the minimum punishment shall serve the ends of justice.
“Since the convict, Danish Mehraj Guroo son of Mehraj Ud Din Guroo of Sumerbagh, Panthachowk Srinagar, is held guilty of committing both aggravated penetrative sexual assault punishable under section 6 of POCSO Act and section 376 of IPC, as such, he is sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of 20 years for the offence punishable under section 6 of POCSO Act and fine of Rs. 25000”, ordered the judge.
According to the prosecution, the class 10 school girl came to know the accused through Facebook in 2019. The accused had sent her friend request through it. Thereafter he started messaging her frequently to which she would sometimes reply. She does not know how the accused came to know that she goes for tuition to Bemina.
Then one day he came to her tuition centre and asked her why she didn‘t reply to his messages. She did not recognize him and he told her that he sends her messages through Facebook and he would again message in the evening and asked her to reply.
The accused sent her a message on WhatsApp that he wanted to make relations with her but she replied that she is young.
However, she relented on his insistence. The accused enticed her to come to his house and she went to his house in 2020. He forced her to have physical relations with her and raped her.
The parents of the accused called her family and her parents, uncle and brother came to police station Nowgam. The police handed her over to her parents.
The accused again started enticing her. Whenever she used to go to his house he would rape her.
On December 12, 2020 the accused instigated her. She went to his house. The accused and his family convinced her to enter into nikah with the accused.
The next day her marriage was held with the accused and in the night accused again raped her. She stayed in his house till December 16, 2020. She was confined in his house and during this period the accused continued to have physical relation with her.
On December 16, 2020 her family lodged an FIR with police station Safakadaland. The police took them to the police station. She was sent to LD Hospital for a medical check-up where she came to know that she was pregnant. She was sent for one night to SOS Children‘s Home and handed over to her father the next day. She then underwent a miscarriage.
The accused denied the charges and said that a proper marriage was solemnised between the two and there was no question of any illegal act.
The POCSO court heard on behalf of the Public Prosecutor Noor-Ul-Sajad as well as the counsel for the accused, Musharaf Waheed Baba.
The prosecutor submitted that the convict has repeatedly committed a penetrative sexual assault upon a minor girl and due to his act, the victim even became pregnant as such he does not deserve any leniency and may be awarded imprisonment for life.
On the other hand, the learned counsel for the convict has stated that the court should take a lenient view on the matter and award the minimum punishment prescribed in the Act.
The court while awarding the sentence recorded that it cannot be ignored that while committing the offence against the victim there is no allegation of any brutality or bestiality involved on the part of the accused. Neither it has been proved that the victim was forcibly taken away and raped by the convict, it added.
“However, this court cannot overlook the fact that the victim was a minor girl at the time of the occurrence and was motivated to enter into repeated sexual intercourse by the accused without consideration to her age which even resulted in her pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage,” said the court and awarded the man a 20 year rigorous punishment.
The court also recommended compensation of three lakh rupees to the woman now.
