Jaipur, Jul 14 (IANS): A POCSO court in Rajasthan sentenced a 72-year-old man to life imprisonment for raping a four-year-old minor girl last December in Kota district.

The court has also imposed a fine of Rs 20000 on convict Gopal Lal Kani, a resident of Jhalrapatan area in Jhalawar district.

The parents of the girl were initially hesitant to get lodge a complaint.

But when they had to rush their daughter to the hospital, the doctor convinced the parents to lodge a complaint.

The complaint was lodged on December 27, 2022, five days after the crime had occurred.

The accused was arrested the next day and has since been under judicial custody.

The case was fast tracked and a charge sheet was filed on February 27 this year.

The POCSO judge Deepak Dubey penned a poem praising the mother's courage and said: "Salute to you mother, had you not read my pain I would have to silently bear this burden throughout my life. Had you not shown the courage, mother who would have heard the pain of this innocent one."