Jaipur, Apr 23 (PTI) A POCSO court in Rajasthan’s Jhunjhunu district on Wednesday sentenced a 43-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping and impregnating a 15-year-old girl.

The special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act also imposed a fine of Rs 1.30 lakh on convict Phoolchand Jogi, Special Public Prosecutor Surendra Bhambu said.

The victim’s family lodged a case against the accused at Udaipurwati police station in February 2023, he said. The special public prosecutor further said that the statements of 17 witnesses and 46 documents were presented before the court during the hearing in the case.

He said that accused Jogi was working as a caretaker in a temple. He called the minor victim to his room on the pretext of cleaning it and raped her several times by intimidating her.

The case came to light after the girl became pregnant and gave birth to a child.

Bhambu said that after investigation, police filed a chargesheet in the POCSO court. On the basis of evidence and statements of witnesses, the court convicted Jogi under various sections of the POCSO Act and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment with fine, he said. PTI AG KVK KVK