Mangaluru: The Additional District and Sessions Fast Track Special Court (POCSO) convicted a KSRTC conductor, Daval Sab from Bagalkot, for sexually harassing a minor girl.
The incident occurred in March 2023 when the girl boarded a bus to return home, accompanied by four to five passengers. Later during the journey, after the other passengers had disembarked, the conductor allegedly exposed his private parts to her.
Upon reaching home, the girl recounted the incident to her mother. Subsequently, she and her mother filed a complaint at Bantwal town station.
Acting on the complaint, the police arrested the conductor. Inspector Nandini S Shetty submitted a chargesheet to the court. The accused was sentenced to one year of simple imprisonment and fined Rs 5,000 under Section 509 of the IPC.
Under Section 12 of the POCSO Act, he was sentenced to two years of rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs 10,000. In case of failure to pay the fine, he will undergo an additional two months of imprisonment. Additionally, the judge ordered the district legal services authority to compensate the minor girl with Rs 10,000.