Serial offender gets rigorous imprisonment for life for raping minor

A special court here sentenced today a 35-year-old man, a serial offender, to rigorous imprisonment for life for raping a minor girl in 2014.

Ayyas Ansari was awarded the sentence by Additional Sessions Judge M A Baraliya of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court.

While ordinarily life imprisonment can end after 14 years, Ansari has been sentenced to imprisonment for whole life, said special prosecutor Geeta Sharma.

The court had convicted Ansari under the Indian Penal Code Sections 376 (rape), 377 (unnatural offences) and 323 (assault), and relevant sections of the POCSO. Arguments over the sentence went on for about a month after that.

The prosecution had sought death penalty for Ansari, saying he was a serial offender who was convicted thrice in cases of rape/sexual assault earlier, and had a total of 11 cases registered against him.

Under the amended criminal law, a repeat offence of rape can attract capital punishment.

Ansari, according to police, accosted the girl in Sion area here when she was returning from school, and said he was her father's friend and her father had asked him for a phone number, and she would need to come to his office as the phone book was in the office.

He then took her to a secluded spot and raped her.

Though the girl did not know Ansari's real name, he was arrested on the basis of a sketch made as per the description provided by her.

Prosecution examined 11 witnesses during the trial.