Convicting Sengar, 53, under POCSO Act, the court said the CBI proved that the victim was a minor and was rightly prosecuted the special law
New Delhi: A Delhi court convicted expelled BJP MLA Kuldeep Singh Sengar on Monday for raping a woman in Unnao in 2017 saying the victim's testimony was 'truthful and unblemished' against a 'powerful person.'
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The court convicted Sengar for rape under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for the offence of a public servant committing penetrative sexual assault against a child. The court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence on Wednesday. The offences entail a maximum punishment of life imprisonment. District Judge Dharmesh Sharma, however, acquitted co-accused Shashi Singh of all charges.
Convicting Sengar, 53, under POCSO Act, the court said the CBI proved that the victim was a minor and was rightly prosecuted the special law. "I found her statement truthful and unblemished that she was sexually assaulted. She was under threat, worried. She is a village girl, not from cosmopolitan educated area... Sengar was a powerful person. So she took her time..," the judge said while reading out the verdict.
When the judge started pronouncing the judgement, co-accused Singh fainted. The court noted that after the victim wrote a letter to the UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, several criminal cases were filed against her family and 'imprints of Sengar' were visible in them.
The court expressed surprise over the delay by the CBI in filing charge sheet in the rape case and said it prolonged trial against Sengar and others. Referring to the POCSO, which had come into being to impart expeditious justice, the court said there was 'nothing wrong' with the law but its ineffective implementation on the ground and lack of human approach of officers concerned led to a situation where justice was delayed.
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