A special court in Uttar Pradesh’s Mathura sentenced a man to life imprisonment till last breath for kidnapping and raping his stepdaughter, saying he deserved no leniency as he was the custodian of the girl, a minor when the incident happened eight years ago.

The Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court judge Amar Singh also imposed a cumulative fine of Rs. 2 lakh on the convict.

“The learned Additional Special Judge POCSO Act, the court no 2, Amar Singh also ordered the government would pay Rs. 2 lakh to the victim girl in case the convict fails to deposit the fine,” Additional District Government Counsel (ADGC) Subhash Chandra Chaturvedi said.

Sharing the details about the incident, Mr Chaturvedi said that on February 2, 2013, the man kidnapped the girl, who was 15 then, and raped her when her mother had gone to a relative’s place.

Upon her return, the mother filed a complaint against him, also alleging he stole a motorbike, Rs. 1.05 lakh cash and jewellery.

An FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 363 (kidnapping), 366 (kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her for marriage) and 376 (rape) on the woman’s complaint.

Four years after the death of her first husband, the woman had married the now-convicted man, a resident of Aligarh, expecting him to support the family, the ADGC said. After the marriage, they started living together in the Mathura district.

The defense counsel requested the court to take a lenient view of the matter as his client is poor and a first-time offender, the ADGC stated.

The judge rejected the plea, saying since the accused was the father and the custodian of the girl, what he did was a heinous crime that merited an exemplary punishment.

The convict also deserved a severe punishment since the girl was less than 16 years of age when he subjected her to the crime, he said.

The judge then awarded the convict 10 years rigorous punishment and Rs.50,000 fine under section 366 of the IPC, and life imprisonment (till his last breath) and Rs. 1.50 lakh fine under section 376, the ADGC said.

In case the convict fails to deposit the fine, the government would pay Rs. 2 lakh to the victim as compensation, cancelling bail of the convict, the judge ordered.