On August 10, a special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offense) bench at the Indore district court sentenced Mohammad Sabir to 20 years of imprisonment. Sabhir was held after he raped a minor Hindu girl and later forced her to convert to Islam. With this decision, Sabir becomes the first person to be convicted under the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, other than POCSO.
As per the reports, the accused has been awarded 5 years of rigorous imprisonment under Sections 3/5 of the Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act, 2021, which came into force in 2021.
Additionally, the Special Bench (POCSO Act) of Judge Surekha Mishra, awarded the accused 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under 376(3) IPC and 5(L) and 6 of the POCSO Act and up to 7 years of jail and Rs 56,000 fine under sections 450 and 506 of the IPC.
Sabir has been booked for the incident that was reported on September 9, 2020, in the Hathod police station area. As per the reports, he raped a minor Hindu girl. The girl was alone at home when Sabir barged into her house and raped her. He did not stop here as he filmed the act and later started blackmailing the minor against the pictures and videos. He started forcing the minor to convert to Islam.
The victim, tired of the threats and atrocities, finally narrated her ordeal to her parents and brother who then took her to the police station to file a report. The police lodged a complaint and launched a probe into the case.
Sabir absconded after the incident. However, the police arrested Sabir after a few days. He was later produced before the District Court, which pronounced the verdict and sentenced the accused.
Special Public Prosecutor Sushila Rathore said that the said order was passed by Special Judge (POCSO Act) Surekha Mishra. The court observed that the crime executed by the accused cannot be ignored as it can have a massive impact on society. “No leniency can be shown to the accused for the said act,” the Court stated.
The Madhya Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act came into force on March 27, 2021. Under the Act, forced conversion of a minor, woman or a person from Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe, would draw a minimum jail term of 2 to 10 years with a minimum penalty of Rs 50,000.
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