Siliguri, Feb. 27 -- The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court in Siliguri has sentenced Shubham Singh, a resident of the Bagdogra Police Station area, to 20 years of imprisonment for the rape of a minor. Judge Anita Mehrotra Mathur also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convicted and ordered a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to be paid to the victim. The court found him guilty under Section 6 of the POCSO Act.
The case was registered at the Bagdogra police station on September 17, 2019. Sunanda Sarkar, the Public Prosecutor stated that the victim at the time, was known to Shubham Singh.
According to the prosecution, Shubham had been a frequent visitor to the victim's home, taking advantage of her parents' absence as they worked in the tea gardens.
When the victim was 13 years old, he began raping her repeatedly.
The abuse continued for several years and the victim became pregnant. Singh then coerced her into having an abortion and threatened her into silence.
The victim's ordeal came to light on September 8, 2019, when Singh once again
forcibly raped her.
Following this, the victim disclosed the years of abuse to her family, who promptly filed a written complaint on September 17, 2019. Shubham Singh was arrested on the same day.
The case was subsequently transferred to the Women's police station. During the trial, the prosecution presented 8 witnesses.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.