A Delhi court on Saturday, 18 January, convicted two men for raping a five-year-old girl in east Delhi in 2013.
Additional Sessions Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra convicted Manoj Shah and Pradeep Kumar in the case, and said the child, who was just five-years-old at the time, experienced exceptional depravity and extreme brutality.
Saying that the collective conscience of the society has been left shaken, the court fixed 30 January for the arguments on the quantum of sentencing, according to PTI.
“In our society, minor girls are worshipped as goddesses,” the court added.
‘Happy We Got Justice After 6 Years’: Girl’s Father
Responding to the verdict, the father of the 5-year-old girl said, “Though the trial should have been completed in two years, we are happy we got justice after six years.”
Shah and Kumar had raped the girl at Gandhi Nagar area and shoved objects in her private parts on 15 April 2013.
They had fled after committing the crime, leaving the victim at Manoj's room, believing her to be dead, according to PTI. The child was rescued 40 hours later on 17 April 2013.
Convict Attacks Journalist Outside Court
While coming out of the court after the hearing, one of the two convicts in the case attacked journalists and tried to snatch their mobile phones, reported ANI.
Manoj Shah, who was convicted by a POCSO court, allegedly hit some senior reporters while he was being taken out of the courtroom.
The issue was brought to the notice of Additional Sessions Judge Naresh Kumar Malhotra, who asked one of the senior woman reporters to give a written complaint to the Station House Officer, according to PTI.
India Today condemned the attack on its reporter and said “The group stands by its reporters and thanks each member of the reporting team for staying steadfast in the face of physical danger.”
(With inputs from PTI and ANI.)
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