A Pune court on Thursday sentenced a 24-year-old HIV positive man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a five-year-old girl in 2019. The police said the girl later contracted the virus
A Pune court on Thursday sentenced a 24-year-old HIV‑positive man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a five-year-old girl in 2019. The police said the girl later contracted the virus. The incident occurred on November 25, 2019, when the girl, who stayed in a village in Pune district, went to a shop to buy snacks. The accused, who stayed in the same village, lured her with guavas and raped her. He was 19 years old at the time. The special court observed that the offence was serious in nature, the victim was barely six years old, and the accused committed the offence despite knowing that he was HIV-positive. Investigations revealed that the accused had attempted to sexually assault the minor in 2018, but no complaint was filed against him then. The police also learnt that the accused was aware of his HIV-positive status and had been on medication for several days. The 2019 incident After the minor’s grandmother lodged a First Information Report at the jurisdictional police station, the accused was initially booked under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) section related to sexual harassment and Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act sections related to sexual assault and sexual harassment. However, after a medical examination at a government hospital, on December 7, 2019, the police invoked rape charges under the IPC and penetrative sexual assault and aggravated penetrative sexual assault charges under the Pocso Act. The police submitted the chargesheet against the accused on February 3, 2020. During the trial, the prosecution examined nine witnesses.
