Pilibhit : A fast-track court in Pilibhit on Thursday sentenced a 70-year-old grocery shopkeeper to life imprisonment for sexually assaulting two five-year-old girls at his shop in April last year. Additional district and sessions judge Sunil Kumar also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 under BNS section 65(2) (rape of a girl below 12) and relevant provisions of the Pocso Act .
The incident took place on April 30, 2025, in a village under Hazara police station. An FIR was registered on May 1 on a complaint by the girls’ father. Police invoked section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST Act during the investigation and filed a chargesheet on June 6. The court also sentenced him to two years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 2,000 under BNS section 351(3) for criminal intimidation. It awarded one year’s rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 1,000 under section 352 for intentional insult. All sentences will run concurrently, the court ruled, adding that the convict will undergo an additional five months’ imprisonment if he fails to pay the Rs 10,000 fine.
The two girls had gone to the accused’s shop to buy household items when he assaulted them, according to the complaint. They returned home crying and in pain and told their parents about the incident. The girls also said the shopkeeper had threatened to kill them if they disclosed the assault. The accused had remained in custody since his arrest after his bail pleas were rejected in view of the gravity of the offence, Shukla said.
When their family members confronted him, he abused them and repeated the threats, following which they approached the police.