Indore Special Court Imposes 20-Year Sentence On Rape Convict

A special POCSO court in Indore has sentenced 20-year-old man to 20 years of imprisonment of raping a minor and pressurising her to convert her religion.

Special Judge (POCSO), Surekha Mishra, presiding over the case, found Sabir Khan guilty and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment under IPC Section 376 (3).

Similarly, he was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment under Sections 5 (L)/6 of the POCSO Act, 7 years of incarceration under IPC Section 450, seven years under IPC Section 506, and 5 years under Sections 3/5 of the Freedom of Religion Act.

In addition to the prison term, the court imposed a cumulative fine of Rs 56,000 across the different sections.

Special Public Prosecutor Sushila Rathore said, “A minor girl belonging to the Jain community had lodged a complaint against the accused Sabir Khan, a resident of Khajrana at Hatod police station, Indore rural that the accused had come to her house and raped her on September 09, 2020. The victim had filed a case against the accused in the police station around a year later in 2021.”

The charges filed against the accused included IPC Sections 376 (2)(n), 450, 506, as well as Sections 5/6 of the POCSO Act and Sections 3/5 of the Freedom of Religion Act.

During the proceedings on Thursday, the court found the accused guilty and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment under IPC Section 376 (3), 20 years of incarceration under the POCSO Act, five years of imprisonment under Sections 3/5 of the Freedom of Religion Act, seven years under IPC Section 506, and seven years of imprisonment under IPC Section 450.

The prosecutor further stated that the maximum punishment was for 20 years and all the sentences would go concurrently. The court also recommended that the victim should be given an amount of Rs 50,000 on behalf of the state government.