Balwinder Kumar, the son of UT constable Kashmiri Lal, has been sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and has also been asked to pay a fine of Rs 50,000, which will be paid to the victim.

Present in the court today with her two-year-old girl, the victim said she would have never filed the case had Balwinder agreed to marry her.“He betrayed me and left me alone with the child,” she said.

The court said: “The most aggravating circumstance which goes against the convict is that he raped a helpless and illiterate woman taking benefit of her innocence and breaking the confidence imposed in him and also befooled her by making a false promise of marriage.”

While the girl urged the court to direct the accused to marry her, Balwinder declined the offer.

In her statement to the police on March 28, 2007, the victim had said she lived with her parents in Bapu Dham Colony and the accused was their neighbour. When the girl became pregnant, Balwinder refused to marry her, the prosecution alleged, while adding that Balwinder also threatened to kill her if she disclosed their relationship.