A POCSO court in Joshimath, Chamoli district, has sentenced a young man to 3 years of rigorous imprisonment for the kidnapping of a minor girl.
The accused, an 18-year-old professional cricketer at the time of the alleged crime in 2022, was found guilty under Section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code.
In addition to the prison sentence, the court imposed a fine of ₹10,000.
Special Judge Archana Sagar also ordered the state government to compensate the survivor with ₹1 lakh. The convict’s lawyer, Shailendra Nath, announced plans to appeal the verdict in the Uttarakhand High Court within a week.
According to Nath, the conviction was delivered on October 7, 2024. Evidence revealed that the accused had administered an intoxicating substance to the girl, who later found herself seated next to him on a bus. She was reportedly abducted and taken to Uttar Pradesh, where she was allegedly held against her will for several days.
The court acquitted the man of rape charges, citing that the survivor’s medical examination was inconclusive regarding such allegations.
