5 years in jail for sexually assaulting a minor girl

new delhi — A 32-year-old man has been sent to jail for five years by a Delhi court for sexually assaulting an eightyear-old girl and threatening to kill her if she disclosed the incident to anyone.

Additional Sessions Judge Ashwani Kumar Sarpal, while awarding 5 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposing a fine of Rs10,000 on east Delhi resident Dashrath, held him guilty under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. “When the statement of victim and other witnesses is reliable, then delay in reporting the matter to police is not a serious issue. Otherwise also, this delay is only of two days which can be pardoned in the present facts and circumstances where the heinous offence was committed with a minor aged about eight years,” the court said.

According to the complaint filed by the child’s mother, on June 13, 2014, Dashrath grabbed the girl and tried to remove her clothes while she was playing on the terrace of her house. — PTI