Man sentenced to 3.5 years in prison for molesting stepdaughter

Gurugram: A city court sentenced a man to 3.5 years of rigorous imprisonment on Saturday for molesting his minor stepdaughter, police said.

They said the incident had taken place at Tigra village in Sector 56 and a complaint was filed at the local police station on September 21, 2020 when the victim was about 15 years old. According to police, the suspect, who belongs to Sonitpur in Assam, was arrested on the next day and was later sent to judicial custody after he was produced before a court.

The fast-track special court (POCSO Act) of judge Ashwani Kumar had held the man guilty on October 10 on the basis of evidence and depositions made by the witnesses. The court also imposed an overall fine of ₹55,000 on the convict while pronouncing the sentence.

Sunil Kumar Parmar, special public prosecutor, said that the court sentenced the accused to 3.5 years in prison under sections of the POCSO Act and two years of imprisonment under sections of the Indian Penal Code as he had also threatened the minor girl with dire consequences in case she disclosed the incident to anyone. “Both the sentences will run concurrently,” he added.

“The convict has not paid the fine. Under such circumstances, he will have to undergo a simple imprisonment of six months and fifteen days more against the fines imposed on him,” he said.

Parmar said that as per the court order, the period of detention already served by the convict will be set-off against the total period of imprisonment awarded to him.