Man sentenced to 10 years in jail for kidnapping, raping MP girl

Thane, June 23

A man has been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by a court here for repeatedly raping a 17-year-old girl in 2015 after kidnapping her from Madhya Pradesh.

Thane District Sessions Judge S C Khalipe yesterday awarded the sentence to Shivam Banvarilal Kalawat (24), a resident of Guna in MP, and also imposed a fine of Rs 40,000 on him.

However, two others — the convict's sister Archana Kalawat (25) and Sunil alias Prakash Kautik Patel (35) — were acquitted by the court.

The convict's mother, Sita, who was also an accused in the case, died during the pendency of the trial.

Additional public prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale told the court that the four accused had kidnapped the girl from Guna in 2015 and taken her to various places.

Finally, they brought her to Vashi in Navi Mumbai and pushed her into flesh-trade. Between May and August 2015, the convict repeatedly raped her, the court was told.

The victim somehow managed to escape from their clutches from Juhu village in Navi Mumbai and get in touch with an NGO. She lodged a complaint against the accused at the Vashi police station on August 18, 2015.

Observing that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubts all the charges against Shivam Kalawat and convicted him.

The court held him guilty under various Indian Penal Code sections, including 376 (2)(n) (repeated rape), 363 (kidnapping), 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person), 344 (wrongful confinement for ten or more days) and also under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012. — PTI.