Kasaragod: A court in Kerala's Kasaragod has sentenced a man to 97 years rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl, his relative, for eight years, sources said. It is learnt that Kasaragod Additional District Sessions Court convicted the accused under the relevant sections of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 8.5 lakh for the sexual assault. According to the prosecution, the accused constantly abused the girl between 2008 and 2017. The accused raped the girl several times from class 1 to 8 by showing obscene videos. The court, while considering it a rare case, said that the convict will have to undergo additional imprisonment of eight and a half years if he does not pay the fine.
Also read: Kerala: Man sentenced to 107 years RI for raping differently-abled minor daughter
Following a complaint by the victim's family, a case was registered by the Manjeswaram police and the investigation was led by Inspectors AV Dinesh and P Rajesh first. After completing the investigation, Manjeswaram Inspector E Anoop Kumar submitted the charge sheet to the court. Special Prosecutor Prakash Ammannaya also appeared for the prosecution.
Pertinently, in a similar case, a special POCSO court in Kerala's Pathanamthitta, in November last year, sentenced a 45-year-old man in Kerala to 107 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping his 13-year-old differently-abled daughter. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 4 lakh on the convict. The court further directed that the convict will have to undergo an additional five years of imprisonment if he failed to pay the fine.
