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Mangaluru: A 31 year-old Sadashiva was found guilty of sexually assaulting a minor and was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment by Additional District and Sessions Judge-- FTSC-II (Pocso) Maanu K S on Saturday.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 50,000 on Sadashiva. Special Public Prosecutor K Badrinath Nairy said Sadashiva got in touch with the minor, a relative, through Facebook. On August 9, 2022, when none were at home, Sadashiva had visited the house and sexually assaulted her after promising marriage.
He also used to send lewd messages to her cellphone. On August 10, 2022, he sent a message to the minor seeking forgiveness for touching her. Upset over the message, the girl had consumed diesel, following which a case was registered at Belthangady police station under sections 354, 376 of IPC, Section 4 and 8 of the Pocso Act, and section 67 of the IT Act. The then Belthangady Circle Inspector, Shivakumar B, led the investigation and filed the chargesheet before the court.
The court during trial examined 14 witnesses and marked 33 documents. The accused was sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under sections 376 (3) of IPC and 4 (2) of the Pocso Act. He will undergo three years of rigorous imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 5,000 for section 354 of IPC and section 8 of Pocso Act. For the offence under the IT Act, he was asked to undergo a sentence of one year simple imprisonment and pay a fine of Rs 5,000.
The court ordered that the fine amount of Rs 50,000 should be handed over to the survivor. The court also directed the district Legal Services Authority to release a compensation of Rs 1.50 lakh to the victim, said Nairy.