Chandigarh, December 7 A local court has awarded 20 years of imprisonment to a 19-year-old youth for raping a 10-year-old girl in January this year. Awarding the punishment under Sections 376-AB (rape of woman under 12 years of age), 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC and the POCSO Act, the court of Additional District and Sessions Judge Poonam R Joshi also imposed a fine of Rs 55,000 on the convict, Sanjeev, a resident of Mani Majra. Out of the total amount, Rs 50,000 will be given to the victim and Rs 5,000 to the state. According to the prosecution, the victim, a student of Class III at a government school, was raped by the accused on January 18 this year. The case was registered on a complaint of the victim’s mother, who told the police that she had gone out of station with her husband on January 13, leaving behind her five children, including the victim. When she returned home on January 19, her 10-year-old daughter told her that Sanjeev, who was their neighbour, had come to their house on January 18 and forcibly took her to his room. He gagged her and violated her. When the victim raised the alarm, the accused threatened her with dire consequences. After the victim’s medical examination, the police arrested the accused.

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