56-yr-old gets 25-year RI for rape, impregnation of minor in Jalpaiguri
Times of India | 10 April 2025
Jalpaiguri: A 56-year-old man was sentenced to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment by a Pocso court in Jalpaiguri on Wednesday for raping and impregnating a 15-year-old girl in 2018. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1 lakh and ordered the district legal cell authority to provide compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the survivor.
Monka Mahato, who lived in the same area as the minor, raped her repeatedly and threatened to harm her parents if she told anyone.
Her family became aware of the situation after the girl showed signs of pregnancy when she was seven months pregnant.
On June 4, 2019, the teen's mother lodged a complaint at Jalpaiguri Women police station. A case was registered under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and a charge sheet filed within a month.
Assistant public prosecutor Debasis Dutta said: "In the meantime, the survivor gave birth to a baby. Since she was already seven months pregnant, it was not possible to get an abortion as it would have cost the girl her life."