Ghaziabad, 8 April
A local court here on Monday sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 3-year-old Dalit girl in 2018.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Deepika Tiwari also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on Vikas, Special public prosecutor Sanjiv Bakharwa said.

The incident occurred on December 28, 2018, in the Loni border police station area, when the survivor went missing and her parents started searching for her.

Around 6.00 pm, they reached near the embankment of the Bamheta canal, where they heard screeches of a child from a pit. They saw their daughter in the pit with Vikas who was raping her, Bakharwa said.

The rape survivor's father, with the help of locals, caught him and handed him over to the police and the child was sent for medical examination to GTB hospital, he said.

The medical test report confirmed that the girl was raped. A case was registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, he added.

The court held Vikas guilty and sentenced him to 20 years imprisonment. In case of a non-payment fine, one-year imprisonment would be increased. The amount of fine would be used for the welfare of the girl, Bakharwa said.