Ahmedabad: A special Pocso court in Ahmedabad on Friday sentenced a 70-year-old man to life imprisonment till his last breath for raping an 8-year-old girl. Special Pocso judge A B Bhatt also imposed a fine of Rs 1.05 lakh on the accused. Out of this penalty amount, the court ordered that Rs 1 lakh be paid to the victim as compensation. Additionally, the court directed the government to pay Rs 7 lakh to the victim under the Victim Compensation Scheme.
Case Details
According to the prosecution, the accused and the victim live in a nearby chawl. In January 2025, the victim went out to play with her friends. The accused lured her to his house by offering her biscuits and then raped her. The girl complained to her mother about the accused but did not know his name.
The victim's parents went to the accused's house the next day but found it locked. They waited until evening, and then the victim's mother again took her to the accused's chawl. She let her daughter play with other children and laid a trap for the accused. The accused called the child to his house and closed the doors. The victim's mother raised an alarm, and the accused was caught. A police complaint was filed, and the accused was booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
Trial and Evidence
During the trial, additional public prosecutors D M Thakor and K G Jain examined 13 witnesses and presented 26 pieces of documentary evidence to establish the accused's guilt.
Judge's Remarks
Judge A B Bhatt found the accused guilty of raping the 8-year-old. While sentencing him, the judge remarked: “The accused in this case, even after reaching an old age, made the child victim of his lust, and this court believes that such a person should be punished without showing any mercy to him. The maximum penalty for the crime committed by the accused is the death penalty. However, such crimes are not rare; they are occurring in increasing numbers, and the frequency of such offences is rising. Considering the principles established by the honourable Supreme Court on several occasions, this case cannot be considered among the rarest of rare cases. Therefore, instead of the death penalty, a sentence of life imprisonment is deemed just for the accused.”
