A youth, convicted for kidnapping a 15-year-old girl, has been awarded a 19-month jail term by a Delhi court while taking into consideration his young age and the fact that he did not misbehave with the victim.
Additional Sessions Judge Gautam Manan sentenced Delhi resident Dharmender, 20, to the period already spent by him in jail, saying, “He is a young man, a first-time offender. The facts of the case show that he did not subject the girl to any confinement nor did he misbehave with her in any manner.”
The court, which also slapped a fine of Rs 2,000 on him, however, acquitted him of the charges of poisoning as no evidence was collected by the prosecution to establish procurement of any intoxicating substance by the convict.
“It is difficult to believe that accused had administered such a substance to the girl which made her unconscious for two days and without being conscious she was taken by the accused from one place to other,” it said.
While convicting the youth for the offence under section 363 (kidnapping) of IPC, the court relied on the testimonies of the victim, her father and an eyewitness who saw the girl with him in a train.
According to the prosecution, the girl’s father alleged that on August 29, 2012 his daughter went missing and it was suspected that Dharmender had kidnapped her.
Two days later, the victim and Dharmender, who was a henna artist, were found in a district in UP and he was arrested.
The girl told the court that the youth had kidnapped her by gagging her mouth with a handkerchief after which she fell unconscious and when she woke up, she was in the train.
During the trial, the man had denied the allegations against him and contended that the girl was in love with him and had forced him to elope with her.
The court, however, rejected his claims saying there was no evidence to establish his relationship with the girl.
“Therefore, it has to be held that the accused took the prosecutrix away from the lawful guardianship of her parents without their consent and hence committed the offence of kidnapping,” it said.
