Gudiya rape case convicts awarded 20-year jail

A Delhi court on Thursday sentenced two men to 20-year jail for kidnap and gang-rape of a five-year-old girl in 2013. Special POCSO judge also directed the convicts to pay Rs 5 lakh compensation to the victim.

Sentencing the two Manoj and Pradeep the court said, "In our society the minor girls are worshipped as goddess on certain occasions. But in this case, the child, who was aged about five years at time of crime, had experienced exceptional depravity and extreme brutality."

"The crime against the victim was committed in a most grotesque and revolting manner. It shook the collective conscience of the community," the court said.

Additional Sessions Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra convicted them under sections 366, 342, 376 D, 201, 307, 372(2) of the Indian Penal Code and certain sections of the POCSO Act.

On April 15, 2013, the child was kidnapped and gang-raped by the two in East Delhi's Gandhi Nagar. The victim and her family were staying in the same building as the accused.

The accused had also inserted foreign objects in her private parts, causing grievous injuries. The minor was found two days later, on April 17, from a neighbour's rented accommodation where the crime took place. She was unconscious and was admitted to Delhi's AIIMS in a critical state.

Manoj had allegedly confined the girl in the room for at least two days and raped her. He was apprehended from his in-law's village in Bihar and Pradeep was arrested later.

( With inputs from IANS )