Youth gets 3 yrs in jail for sexually assaulting 6-yr-old girl

, Oct 4: A 24-year-old

has been sent to three years in

for sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl with the Delhi court saying that instances of minor girls falling victim to "nefarious acts and deeds" were on the rise.

The court awarded the jail term to northwest Delhi resident Santosh Rai saying there had been prior instances when he had kept a watch on the movements of the child and tried to befriend her. "The convict offered to buy the child a cream roll and, when she did not succumb to his attempts to lure her, sexually assaulted her after pulling her towards his house.

"The instances of minor girls falling victims to such nefarious acts and deeds are on the rise and, thus, no leniency is called for in the matter. "I hereby sentence convict Santosh Rai to rigorous imprisonment for a period of three years under Section 8 of POCSO Act," Additional Sessions Judge Illa Rawat said.

The court held Rai guilty under Section 354A (sexual harassment and unwelcome physical contact) of IPC and Section 8 (punishment for sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

According to the prosecution, the case was reported in March this year. The minor girl was playing outside her house when Rai approached her and offered to buy her something to eat. When the child refused to go with him, he forcibly held her and dragged her towards his house, the prosecution said, adding that, in the meantime, the girl's mother saw him taking her daughter away.

She came out of her house and raised an alarm, following which Rai was caught by neighbours and handed over to police. Rai was accused of sexually assaulting the child by indulging in physical contact with a sexual intent. The court rejected Rai's submission that he was innocent and falsely implicated in the case by the child. "The deposition of the child with regard to the incident is firm and convincing. I find no reason as to why a child of the age of the prosecutrix would get an innocent person implicated for an offence which was indisputably committed with her," the judge said.

PTI