A man has been sentenced to three years in jail by a Delhi court for evading arrest since 2006 in a kidnapping and rape case lodged against him by a girl.
"The offence (rape) alleged against the convict (Suraj Pal) was a serious one, therefore his conduct of absconding and evading his arrest for a period of about six years has to be viewed seriously. The convict does not deserve any lenient view," Additional Sessions Judge Virender Bhat said.
Delhi Police was looking for Suraj Pal, a native of Uttar Pradesh, since October 2006. However, he was apprehended by the investigators in January this year.
The father of the alleged victim had lodged a complaint with the police that his two daughters were missing since October 13, 2006 while he was away on his duty.
The father had said that his daughters had been enticed away by one Rajiv, who resides in the same locality.
During the probe the complainant's younger daughter was recovered after a month from Rajiv's native village, but the elder daughter were not traceable.
The police had said that the girl was raped by Rajiv and his maternal uncle Suraj Pal.
It also said that Rajiv and the victim's elder sister had later on married each other.
However, the court has acquitted Suraj and Rajiv of kidnapping and rape charges as the victim and her father in their depositions had turned hostile and resiled from their earlier statements.
"There is nothing in their deposition to demonstrate or even suggest remotely that the prosecutrix 'S' (complainant's younger daughter) was kidnapped by the accused and raped by him as well as by Rajiv," the court said.
