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Agartala, June 24: A person identified as Simon Debbarma was convicted by Special POCSO court West Tripura for raping a minor girl. The convict was sentenced to ten years of rigorous imprisonment along with a cash penalty of Rs 30,000 on default of which he had to suffer additional six months of jail.
According to the available information, on December 31, 2014, a minor girl (17) was raped in Agartala's Krishnanagar by the convict, a resident of Bhuban Chantai Para under Ranirbazar Police station. The accused had invited the victim to his rental home on Christmas. The victim went to his place along with one of her friends that fateful night.
While the victim went out to access the washroom, Debbarma groped her and raped her. As a result, she became pregnant. After learning about her pregnancy, the accused Debbarma fled the state and moved to Shillong to evade police action.
Later, the victim gave birth to a baby girl on September 20, 2015, at AGMC & GBP hospital. The victim's family offered a marriage proposal to the accused person’s family, but they refused to solemnize the marriage.
Feeling helpless, the girl lodged an FIR with West Agartala women Police Station on May 5, 2017, against the accused and his parents(Case no.2017/WAW/035).
Investigating officer Munna Majumder submitted the charge sheet before court after thorough inquiry. During the hearing at West Tripura's POCSO court, 18 witnesses were examined. The accused Debbarma and his father were also present on the day of sentence pronouncement.
After hearing arguments advanced by both the sides and proper examination of all the evidence, Special Judge (POCSO) Sarmistha Mukherjee declared Debbarma guilty under IPC Section 376 (2)(n) and Section 6 of the POSCO Act.
He was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 30,000 was imposed on him. Public prosecutor Pradip Sutradhar pleaded with the court on behalf of the government.