GURUGRAM: A 21-year-old bus conductor of a leading private school in the city has been sentenced to 20 years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 has been imposed on him for digitally raping a four-year-old kindergarten student around two years ago.The child was returning home on a school bus with other kids on an August day in 2016 when Shambhu (23) sexually assaulted her, triggering outrage among parents with several groups starting social media campaigns expressing concerns over safety of children.Additional sessions judge Rajni Yadav, in her order passed on Monday, held Shambhu guilty under the POCSO Act, making it one of the few cases wherein the court handed down 20 years of imprisonment to an accused of digital rape of a child.Shambhu, who has been behind bars since August 2016, will remain in jail till the completion of his jail term. Further, he will have to undergo additional six years of imprisonment if he fails to pay the penalty.Elaborating on the case, assistant public prosecutor Vinod Kumar said the girl’s parents, in their complaint, had alleged that conductor Shambhu had sat next to the child and sexually assaulted her as the bus approached their residential society in Sector 56. The conductor dropped the child at the society’s gate, where she was picked up by her parent.A day after the incident, the girl complained of pain in her thighs, and her mother took her to a doctor. After examination, the doctor suggested that the child might have been abused. On further questioning by the parents, the girl revealed what had happened on the school bus.The parents approached police but were apparently reluctant to file an FIR. However, cops at Sector 56 police station convinced the couple to file a formal complaint to deter other offenders from committing similar crimes.According to the police, Shambhu, originally from West Bengal, had joined the job on a temporary basis a few weeks before committing the crime, after the regular attendant had gone on leave to attend his mother’s funeral. Based on the parents’ complaint, Shambhu was arrested in Gurugram and sent to jail.“The medical report, statements of the girl and her parents, and police investigation nailed the accused in the case. The child also identified the man in court. Considering all the aspects of the case, the court refused to show any leniency and awarded strictest punishment to the guilty,” said Kumar.

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