BAREILLY: A resident of Bhuta tehsil who abducted a minor girl in 2004 and married her, and went on to have four children with her, has found the law catching up with him – he was granted four years’ rigorous imprisonment by a fast-track court for abduction and rape .

The case dates back to 2004 when the family of a 14-year-old girl from village Rupapur lodged a complaint against a local resident, Sher Bahadur, accusing him of abducting her. In their complaint, the girl’s family also accused Sher Bahadur’s mother, brother and brother-in-law of being involved in the crime .

Meanwhile, it came to light that the accused married the girl even as his family members and relatives were arrested and sent to jail, who were in 2008 acquitted by court for lack of evidence.

Around this time, police also recovered the girl from the custody of accused and Bahadur was sent to jail. During the medical examination of the girl, she was found to be a minor. The accused was later released on bail.

The hearing of the case began in fast-track court during the course of which the girl deposed in favour of the accused, stating that she had gone with him on her own and thereafter they got married. They now have four kids .

However, the additional district government counsel (ADGC), criminal, pleaded that at the time of her recovery, the girl was a minor so her statement and claims of marriage with the accused hold no ground.

“After listening to the arguments from both sides, judge, fast-track court, Mridulesh Kumar Singh on Monday sentenced the accused Sher Bahadur to four years rigorous imprisonment under Section 363 (Punishment for kidnapping) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000,” ADGC, Suresh Babu Sahu, said.

