The Additional District and Sessions Court (PoCSO Act Special) in Kalaburagi has sentenced a 19-year-old youth to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹30,000 on him for sexually assaulting a 10-year-old girl.

As per information provided by public prosecutor in the case Shanthaveer B. Tuppad, the accused, Sonu, son of Tara Singh Jadhav and a resident of File Tanda near Nandur (K) village in Kalaburagi taluk, raped the girl at 2.30 p.m. on August 9, 2024 after stuffing a piece of cloth in her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

“When the girl was playing on a swing, the accused approached her and took her upstairs in the house on the pretext of watering plants. He then undressed her in an attempt to rape her. When the girl resisted, he stuffed her mouth with a piece of cloth and raped her,” Mr. Tuppad said.

Earlier, the accused lured the minor girl with the promise of marriage. Despite her refusal, he took her to Kolhapur in Maharashtra on February 6, 2023 and raped her multiple times for 10 days in a room that he had rented, he said.

He committed the crime despite knowing the fact that the girl was a minor, Mr. Tuppad said.

Giving additional information on the case, the public prosecutor said that attempts were made to suppress the case at their Tanda (hamlet) level itself by the accused’s parents offering a marriage between the victim and the accused.

“However, the victim’s parents refused the offer by stating that their daughter was like the accused’s daughter and that incest was prohibited in their traditional customs. The parents and the close relatives of the accused even attempted to assault the victim’s parents,” Mr. Tuppad said.

Following a complaint, a case was registered at the University Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita 2023 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (PoCSO) Act.

Circle Inspector of Police Renukadevi and Circle Inspector of Police Sushilkumar investigated the case and filed a charge-sheet confirming the crimes committed by the accused as specified in the complaint.

Hearing both parties and examining witnesses and evidence, judge Yamanappa Bammanagi found the accused guilty of the crimes specified in the complaint and charge-sheet and pronounced various sentences and imposed different fines on the accused for different crimes.

He sentenced the convict to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹20,000 on him under Section 6 of PoCSO Act. The convict was sentenced to 20 years in jail and a fine of ₹10,000 under Section 4(2) of the Act.

The judge also ordered the District Legal Services Authority to give a compensation of ₹7,00,000 to the victim within one month from the pronouncement of the order.