A 69-year-old man has been jailed for seven years after abducting a 10-year-old girl and attempting to rape her. Suresh Manvar grabbed the girl in May and dragged her into his home in Saraspur, a neighbourhood in the eastern area of Ahmedabad, India, on May 14.
He tried to rape her before the attack was reported to local police. Officers from Shaherkotda Police Station launched an immediate investigation and Manvar was soon arrested.
Investigation and evidence
Detectives gathered evidence from nine witnesses and submitted 20 documents to the prosecution. Prosecutor D M Thakor told a POCSO court, a specialised fast-track court in India established to try offences committed against children under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, that Manvar tried to rape the girl after abducting her.
He was found guilty of the attack, including abduction and molestation. As reported by the Times of India, Manvar was sentenced to seven years behind bars on Thursday (October 29). The court also ordered Rs 4 lakh (£3,137.58) as compensation for the victim.
Court remarks and separate case
Special judge H N Desai said: "Considering all the circumstances of the case, the commission of the offence has been established. In such circumstances, if the punishment prescribed by law is not imposed, the provision enacted in the law would be rendered meaningless."
The attack took place in the residential area of Saraspur on the eastern side of the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat. The area has an estimated population of between 37,000 and 92,000 people.
In a separate POCSO case, a 22-year-old man named Bhaskar Vaghmare was sentenced to 20 years in jail for luring and raping a child. The attack took place in 2023 before officers launched an immediate investigation.
