Man handed 20 years’ RI by Zunheboto POCSO Court

March 17, 2023 71 Views No Comment

Zunheboto, March 17 (MExN): The Zunheboto POCSO Court, on March 15, sentenced a 30-year-old man to 20 years Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) for the rape of a minor girl. The conviction pertained to an incident, which happened in the 8th NAP camp, Naltoqa in May 2021. The convicted accused was a Non Combatant Employee (Cook) of the Nagaland Police, identified as Nandu Lal Kumar.

A press release from the Public Prosecutor, Zunheboto, J Khetoholi Yeputhomi, informed that the Special Judge of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO), Ajongba Imchen, also imposed a monetary fine of Rs 20,000 on the convicted accused under Section 4 & 6 of the same Act read with Section 376(2) (l) of Indian Penal Code (IPC).

As per the judgement order, the First Information Report (FIR) against the accused was initially filed by the elder brother of the victim on June 6, 2021, that the accused sexually assaulted the minor, who is hard of hearing with no parents, on May 5 at the 8th NAP Camp. Accordingly, a case was registered at Zunheboto Women Police Station against the accused. In the course of the investigation, the release said that the accused admitted to the crime, while “the statements of the child victim, child witness and the accused were recorded by the JMFC, Zunheboto u/s 164 of CrPC.”

The Judge also noted that the fine imposed on the convict was not adequate for the rehabilitation of the victim and the convict may not be able to pay the fine amount at all. In the event that the convicted accused failed to pay the fine, he will have to undergo an additional year of RI, the judge added.

Accordingly, the District Legal Services Authority, Zunheboto, was further directed to asses and adequately recompense the victim under the Victim compensation Scheme. “In the facts and the poignant circumstances of the victim, the present case is considered to be a fit case for grant of maximum compensation to the victim child as per the Victim compensation Scheme,” he observed.

The agony of the victim cannot be compensated in terms of money, but he held that the grant of compensation would facilitate towards equipping her with skills, which would in turn help her to achieve some level of independence.

While noting that that no compensation has yet been granted to the victim, the judge said, “The Learned Secretary, District Legal Service Authority, Zunheboto is directed to assess and grant adequate compensation to the victim girl. The said compensation amount shall be used by the legal guardian of the victim girl for her welfare,” he added.