Youth gets 25 yrs rigorous jail for rape of minor

Jalpaiguri: In a landmark judgment, the Jalpaiguri district POCSO court sentenced a 23-year-old man, Tariful Islam, to 25 years of Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) for raping a minor. The verdict, delivered on Friday by Judge Indawar Tripathi, also included a fine of Rs 50,000, in default of payment, an additional year of imprisonment.

Debashish Dutta, Special Assistant Public Prosecutor of the POCSO Court, noted that this is the first judgment of its kind in the district following amendments to the POCSO Act in 2020. The court also directed the District Legal Services Authority to provide Rs 4 lakh in compensation to the victim and her family. The judgment was based on the testimony of eight witnesses, leading to the conviction of the accused. The defense lawyer, Abhinandan Chowdhury, announced that they would appeal the decision in

the High Court.

The victim’s family expressed relief and satisfaction with the court’s ruling. The victim’s father revealed that they had faced continuous harassment and threats from the convict’s family, who tried to force them to withdraw the complaint. “Our house was vandalised and we were forced to leave our village. But today, we are happy with the court’s verdict,” he said.

The incident occurred on the afternoon of December 12, 2020, in Jalpaiguri. The minor, along with her brother and friends, had gone to a nearby tea garden to pick flowers and leaves. As night fell, the minor’s 8-year-old brother had seen the convict Tariful Islam forcibly covering his sister’s mouth and dragging her into the thick bushes. He quickly reported the incident to his family, who rushed to the scene and found the girl unconscious and unclothed beside a drain. Following this a complaint was lodged at the police station. The accused was promptly arrested.