Man sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment for abduction of a minor girl and rape case

In yet another case involving the abduction and rape of a minor girl, a local court of Kilashahar under Unakoti on Wednesday sentenced a youth to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment to a accused. The verdict was delivered by Unakoti District Additional Sessions Judge Amarendra Kumar Singh at the Kailashahar court.

According to Public Prosecutor Sunirmal Deb, the incident occurred on October 25, 2022, when a minor girl from the Srinathpur area under Irani police station went missing in the evening. After a search, it was revealed that Arid Ali, son of Rahman Ali and a resident of Pakhirbada area under Ichhabpur Gram Panchayat, Kailashahar, along with another person, abducted the girl on a motorcycle and took her to Golakpur Tea Garden.

The victim’s father lodged a written complaint at Irani police station on October 26, 2022, and the case was registered as Irani PS 85/2022 under sections 363 and 376(3) of the IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act. On the same day, the investigating officer Kinkar Pal rescued the minor from Golakpur Tea Garden and arrested the accused, Arid Ali.

After completing the investigation, a charge-sheet was submitted to the Special (POCSO) Court on November 30, 2022, where the case was registered as Special POCSO Case No. 9/23. During the trial, a total of 13 witnesses testified.

The court sentenced the accused to five years’ imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000 under Section 363 of the IPC, with an additional one month in jail in case of non-payment. Under Section 376 of the IPC and Section 4 of the POCSO Act, he was found guilty and awarded 20 years of rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs. 10,000, with a further two months of imprisonment in case of default.

Due to the stricter provisions under the POCSO Act, the 20-year sentence will be the effective punishment.

The victim and her family expressed satisfaction with the verdict, stating that justice had finally been served after a long wait. Local residents also welcomed the court’s decision.

The Public Prosecutor further revealed that the accused had already married twice before committing the crime and has children from both his wives. It was also mentioned that during the trial, Arid Ali had once escaped from police custody at Kailashahar jail, but was re-arrested by the police two days later.

The sentencing of the accused has brought a wave of relief and satisfaction across the entire sub-division.