Early Times Report Jammu, Apr 29: Principal Sessions Judge, Kathua, Sanjay Dhar today awarded seven years rigorous imprisonment to a rape accused. Charan Dass, son of Mansa Ram of Malhar, Billawar, in Kathua had been facing trial in a rape case since 2011. The victim had on September 28, 2011 lodged a written report with Malhar police station SHO, alleging therein that she was returning home from school on September 21, 2011 when she stopped on the way at about 3 pm to ease herself. In the meantime, Charan Dass, who was hiding behind the maize crop, held her by her arm and dragged her inside the crop. He broke the cord of her trouser, gagged her mouth with a cloth and then committed rape on her. When she raised an alarm, some passersby came there as a result of which he fled. The girl was the class fellow of the accused's daughter. The judge observed that the accused was proved to have committed rape on the prosecutrix. "To take a lenient view merely on the ground that the accused has a family to support will be to render the justice system to suspicion. The common man will lose faith in court because in the cases like those relating to rape, he understands and appreciates the language of deterrence than the reformative jargon," he said. With these observations, the court awarded seven years RI to the accused and fined him Rs 20,000. |