Patna: A juvenile court in Bihar has ordered a teenager to serve water to lawyers for a month as punishment for trying to rape a little girl a year ago.
The attempted rape occurred in Panhar village, Nalanda district, some 80km south of Patna, in January 2016.
The court handed down its verdict on Thursday after the 17-year-old accused after he confessed to the crime. It also took into account his age.
The teenager will be required to serve water to lawyers and all visitors coming to the lawyers’ association building in Nalanda, the home district of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, for a full month to atone for his crime.
“The court took a lenient view considering the age of the accused and gave him an opportunity to correct himself,” prosecution lawyer Ram Narayan Paswas was quoted as telling a local media outlet on Saturday.
According to the police, the accused had lured the little girl to his home on the pretext of showing her pictures on his mobile phone. He then tried to rape her but her parents rushed to her rescue upon hearing her screams.
They subsequently registered a case with the local police after which the accused surrendered.
Earlier, another juvenile court ruled that a child rapist would clean the floors of a Hindu temple in Patna for six months to atone for his crime.
In another case, a juvenile court in January directed that a delinquent teach Dalit children and serve patients at a government hospital for six months as punishment for getting involved in the illegal trade of alcohol.
Bihar banned alcohol last year, with the active support of all political parties.
In December last year, another such court in Aurangabad district ordered a delinquent to wipe the floors of a Hindu temple for six months as a punishment for working for the Maoist army and opening fire on the cops, injuring some of them.
