Youth jailed for 10 yrs for raping 5-yr-old

New Delhi, Aug 4: A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to ten years in jail by a Delhi court for kidnapping and raping a five-year-old girl, with the judge terming the crime as "abominable, inhuman and barbaric."

"The convict committed an abominable, inhuman and barbaric act of rape on a vulnerable child of five years, thereby violating and traumatising her for entire life," Additional Sessions Judge Mamta Tayal said, sentencing Nashrulla of Dabri in South West Delhi.

The court convicted the youth after he was identified by the victim and her 7-year-old brother as perpetrator of the crime.

The court refused to show any leniency to the youth, saying his "dehumanising" act has made the child undergo immense physical pain and agony. It also imposed a fine of Rs 7,000 on the convict.

"Sexual violence, apart from being a dehumanising act is also an unlawful intrusion of the right to privacy and sanctity of a female. It is a serious blow to her supreme honour and offends her self-esteem and dignity," ASJ Tayal said, adding, "It also degrades and humiliates the victim and leaves behind a traumatic experience."

The case dated back to September 14, 2009, when Nashrulla had lured the child to a nearby ridge near her house at Bidapur in Dabri area on pretext of giving her sweets.

According to the prosecution, when the victim was playing with her brother and other children in the evening near her house, Nashrulla came and gave her a toffee and took her and her brother along with him on pretext of giving them more goodies.

The prosecution said after walking some distance, Nashrulla threatened the victim's minor brother and asked him to go back or else he would kill him. He, however took the victim with him to a secluded place.

When the boy returned home, he told his parents about the incident and the matter was reported to the police.

Nashrulla had fled after raping the child, leaving her at the ridge. She was brought back home the next morning by some unknown persons, who found her bleeding and bruised all over.

A case was registered at Bindapur police station by the victim's father Niranjan Shah and Nashrulla was arrested after 20 days of the incident when the police was informed that he was roaming near the victim's house.

The court refused to accept the argument of the convict's counsel that it was a case of mistaken identity as his client was wrongly identified by the victim and her brother.

"The victim was savagely ravished by the accused. She was brutally raped and had undergone immense suffering at the hands of accused. While she was being raped, she had ample opportunity to see and memorise his features and she again could not have forgotten easily the face of the rapist who had injured her in such a beastly manner," the court said.

It added this justifies the statement of the victim and her brother that on seeing Nashrulla roaming around in the area, they were able to recollect and identify him as the perpetrator of the crime.

The judge also noted that there was a human bite mark on Nashrulla's right arm which was caused by the victim when she had tried to escape from his clutches and he was unable to explain about the mark in the court.

PTI