Man sentenced to 20 yrs for raping minor girl

Vadodara: A special POCSO court in Savli convicted a man for raping a 16-year-old girl and sentenced him to 20 years in jail. The man, a native of Rajasthan, came into contact with the minor girl while working at a catering firm in Vadodara.
According to police, the 24-year-old man started a conversation with the girl and took her mobile number. He began messaging her and soon befriended the girl. In 2021, he asked the girl to elope with him and promised to marry her. He called the girl to meet him outside her village and then left with her in an auto-rickshaw.
He first took her to Rajasthan and stayed there for 15 days. The girl told the police that he got into physical relation with her against her wishes during the stay. He then took the girl to Madhya Pradesh before returning to the city. Waghodia police filed an FIR against the man and arrested him.
The court observed that the girl was staying with her grandmother and the incident of rape would affect her future. The court further said that such incidents scare the parents who think twice before sending their daughters to schools, and hence many girls do not receive proper education, thereby forcing them to work in the kitchen or as farm labourers.