A Delhi court has awarded seven-year sentence to a man for sexually assaulting a minor from West Bengal. The court also granted a compensation of Rs. 2 lakh to the victim.
Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan held accused Raju Yadav guilty solely on the basis of the evidence of the victim.
“I am of the view that the testimony of the victim is trustworthy and reliable in respect of the incident of her rape by the accused. No circumstance has been brought by the defence to cast any doubt on the testimony of the prosecutrix. Accordingly, it is held that the allegations against the accused stand proved,” the judge said.
The victim had refused to undergo a medical test as she was scared. She categorically deposed during her cross-examination that she was scared and for this reason she did not consent for her internal (medical) examination.
The counsel for the accused raised this deficiency before the court and sought acquittal of his client. But the court dismissed it.
The defence counsel also pointed out that the victim’s aunty, who had left the victim for a day at the residence of the accused where she was sexually assaulted, was not examined as a witness, but the court rejected this argument as well.
The family of the victim had sent her to Delhi for work. Initially, she stayed with her aunty. One day when her aunty had gone to railway station to see her mother off, she left the victim at the residence of the accused.
The accused on that night sexually assaulted her.
Next day when her aunty brought her back to her residence, the victim narrated the assault incident to her, but she did not take any note of it.
Later, she sent her to work as maid to a house where she worked for six to seven months. Her employer later threw her out of his house.
Later, she was found sitting near Britannia Chowk in North-West Delhi along with two women. The police reached there on a call and recorded her statement and on that basis lodged an FIR.
