BHAVNAGAR: A special court in Gujarat's Bhavnagar on Wednesday sentenced three persons to life imprisonment for raping a mentally unstable minor girl, a verdict coming in less than two months of the incident.
The court hearing cases pertaining to the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act delivered the judgment in the crime that had taken place on February 12.
Police had filed a charge sheet against the three accused within 24 hours of their arrest made soon after the incident.
Police said the victim is a minor, but did not reveal the age.
Special POCSO court judge Zankhana Trivedi sentenced the three accused - Mansukh Solanki , Sanjay Makwana, and Mustufa Sheikh - to life imprisonment and also ordered the government to pay Rs 6 lakh compensation to the victim.
The court observed that it was important to set an example through its judgment so that others are discouraged from committing such a heinous crime.
The accused had lured the daughter of the labourer family living near Talaja road in the city on the pretext of offering chocolates and biscuits to her.
They took her in their car and drove towards the other town, committing the crime on the way, the prosecution said.
The police had arrested them as soon as they reached Alang town.
They filed the charge sheet in the case within 24 hours.
They had been booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 363 (kidnapping), 376 (rape), 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and relevant sections of the POCSO Act.
As many as 26 witnesses were examined, who had produced 72 documents against them.
Help of a psychiatrist was also taken and his statement was recorded as the victim was mentally unstable.