MP: Special court sentences rape accused to 20 years of imprisonment in Indore

Indore: A special POCSO court in Indore has sentenced a 20-year-old rape accused to maximum 20 years of imprisonment in connection with raping a minor girl and pressurising her to convert her religion. 
The court of special judge (POCSO) Surekha Mishra convicted Sabir Khan to 20 years of imprisonment under IPC section 376 (3), 20 years of imprisonment under 5 (L)/6 POCSO Act, seven years of imprisonment under IPC section 450, seven years of jail under IPC section 506 and five years of imprisonment under 3/5 Freedom of Religion Act.
The court also imposed a fine Rs 56,000 on the convict cumulatively in different sections.
Special Public Prosecutor Sushila Rathore said, “A minor girl belonging to the Jain community had lodged a complaint against the accused Sabir Khan, a resident of  Khajrana at Hatod police station, Indore rural that the accused had come to her house and raped her on September 09, 2020. The victim had filed a case against the accused in the police station around a year later in 2021.”
The police had registered the case against the accused under IPC sections 376 (2)(n), 450, 506, 5/6 of POCSO Act and 3/5 of Freedom of Religion Act, she said. 
During the hearing on Thursday, the court convicted the accused and sentenced him to 20 years of imprisonment under IPC section 376 (3), 20 years of jail under POCSO Act, five years of jail under 3/5 Freedom of Religion Act, seven years under IPC section 506 and seven years of jail under IPC 450, she added. 
The prosecutor further said the maximum punishment was for 20 years and all the sentences would go concurrently. The court also recommended that the victim should be given an amount of Rs 50,000 on behalf of the state government.