Youth jailed for 10 yrs for sodomising 6-yr-old boy

A youth has been sent to 10 years in jail by a Delhi court for sodomising and confining a six-year-old boy in 2012.
The court held Delhi resident Tej Kumar guilty of the offences of sodomy under the IPC and aggravated penetrative sexual assault under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
It awarded the minimum sentence of 10 years as prescribed for the offence under the POCSO Act to Kumar, saying it is not a fit case to give maximum punishment of life term to him.
"From the testimony of prosecution witnesses (victim and another person), it becomes clear that accused was in inebriated condition when he entered the public toilet and thereafter entered the toilet where victim was easing himself and thereafter committed sodomy with him," Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Jain said.

The court directed the Secretary of Legal Aid Service, Central District, to determine the quantum of compensation to be paid to the victim for the trauma that he had undergone due to the convict's act.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on the evening of December 21, 2012, when the child had gone to a public toilet near his house and Kumar, who was known to him, also entered there and he sodomised the minor after bolting the door. Kumar also gave Rs 20 to the child.

The child started crying due to the pain and after hearing his voice, passersby opened the door and rescued the minor, it said, adding that Kumar was beaten up by them and by the family members of victim.

Police was called at the spot and victim's grand mother had lodged the complaint against Tej at Prasad Nagar Police Station here.
It said that Kumar had consumed alcohol at the time of committing the offence.
During the trial, Kumar claimed that he has been falsely implicated in the case as he was consuming liquor with the child's maternal uncle who then gave him Rs 500 to bring another bottle of alcohol.
He lost the money as he was in an inebriated condition following which the victim's uncle lodged a false case against him, he had claimed.
The court, however, rejected his contentions.

The court, while awarding the minimum sentence, said the crime was not committed by Kumar in a premeditated manner and since he was in inebriated condition, the possibility that sexual desire may develop all of sudden after finding the victim alone cannot be ruled out.