Man gets 10 years RI for raping minor

OUR BUREAU

SIVASAGAR/JOYSAGAR, May 15: A man was convicted for raping a 14-year-old girl and sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment by the court of Special Judge here on Monday. The accused had raped his niece. The offence was registered at Demow police station bearing case no. 135/2017. Sikandar Masuwa of Demow area in Sivasagar district was convicted for raping the minor girl. The rape victim was an orphan who had been brought up in the accused’s house.

The accused’s wife had on June 15, 2017 lodged an FIR stating that someone had impregnated her niece. During investigation, the police arrested Sikandar Masuwa and submitted a chargesheet. The prosecution registered a case against the man by framing charge u/s 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, for sexually assaulting a minor girl.

After examination of six prosecution witnesses on Monday, the Special Judge convicted the accused Sikandar Masuwa by sentencing him to undergo 10 years rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2,000 was also imposed on him. In default of payment of fine, Sikandar would have to further undergo another two months imprisonment. The Special Judge also directed DLSA, Sivasagar to pay an appropriate compensation to the victim under Assam Victim Compensation Scheme, 2012. The argument was advanced by Srimanta Gogoi for the government.