New Delhi: A youth has been sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment by a Delhi court for kidnapping and molesting his five-year-old neighbour by luring her with an offer to play with his pet.
The court refused to show any leniency to 24-year-old Anil, saying the allegations against him were "serious" and the victim trusted him easily as he was a familiar person.
"Since the convict was a neighbour and a friend of brother of the victim, he could entice her and take the victim with him in broad day light, without raising an iota of doubt regarding his intentions. The convict took the victim with him, wrongfully confined her in his shanty and criminally assaulted her and used criminal force upon her with intend to outrage her modesty.
"Had it not been for a chanced arrival of someone/his younger brother, who knocked on the door of the shanty, the victim may have been attended with further irreparable harm. The proximity, which convict was enjoying with the family of the victim, kept him well informed about movement/presence of her other family members and thus, gave him an easy access to the victim child," Additional Sessions Judge Illa Rawat said.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 7,500 on Anil, a resident of Rana Pratap Bagh in North West Delhi.
The court directed the Delhi Government to pay Rs one lakh compensation to the victim for her welfare and rehabilitation under the Restorative and Compensatory Justice scheme.
According to the police, in October 2012, Anil kidnapped the child when she was going to her aunt`s place on the pretext of taking her to play with his pet rabbit.
He took the girl to his shanty and tried to rape her, it said, adding that since her brother reached there, he could not succeed in his plan and asked the minor to leave after giving her one rupee.
