Rapist sentenced to twenty years rigorous imprisonment , judgment announced by south district and session judge in Belonia

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, August 5, 2022

In an exemplary punishment that may act as deterrent against rape, molestation and crimes against women and young girls, the district and session judge of south Tripura Ashutosh Pandey who is also the special judge of POSCO related cases today sentenced guilty Chiranjit Paul (28), a married man, to twenty years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20 thousand . In default of payment of the fine the sentence will extend to six months of additional imprisonment. The case on which the sentencing was proclaimed today had occurred on September 30 2020 in Madhav Nagar area under Manu Bazar police station in Sabroom subdivision.

According to court records on that fateful day there was a social function in the residence of culprit Chiranjit Paul and many people including his relatives from the area had been invited as guests. Around 9-00 PM Chiranjit had asked a fourteen year old teenaged girl who is his relative to go to his nearby garden with a potful of cooked meat. As the girl did so she was forcibly raped by Chiranjit and threatened with dire consequences in case she did so.

But later on the girl disclosed everything to her parents and a case of rape under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and POSCO act was filed by her parents with the Manu Bazar police station on October 6 2020. Having registered the case the inquiry officer of Manu Bazar police station Satya Ranjan Nandi started his investigation and finally filed a charge-sheet in court under Sections 341,376, 506 and (4 of POSCO ACT). Altogether 15 witnesses were examined in the court in the course of trial of the case which had been fast-tracked. After the completion of the trial the special POSCO judge and district and session judge of south Tripura Ashutosh Pandey today sentenced guilty Chiranjit Paul to twenty years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 20 thousand . In default of payment of the fine the jail term of guilty Chiranjit Paul will extend by six more months . For the government the case was conducted by special public prosecutor Prabhat Chandra Dutta in charge of POSCO cases.