A special sessions judge under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has sentenced a 27-year-old man to seven years rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and forcibly marrying a girl, then 12 years old, in 2014.

The incident occurred in Amroha district.

Nine years ago, Mohd Firoz, who was 19 at the time, asked the girl to steal jewellery and cash from her home after which they eloped and got married.

Firoz and the girl were neighbours.

Her father, a farmer, filed a police complaint against Firoz for abducting the girl on June 13, 2014.

Soon after the girl was found, more sections, including that of sexual assault and POCSO, were slapped against Firoz.

Public prosecutor Naveen Kumar Tyagi said, “Two months after the filing of the FIR, police had found the girl along with the stolen jewellery.”

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