Karnataka: Special classes in school help girl nab her harasser; convict gets 5 years RI

MANGALURU:

Awareness programme

on sexuality, good and bad touch at a government school led to a

minor girl

nailing her harasser.

The II

Additional District and Sessions Court

, which is also the special court for

POCSO cases

, on Thursday awarded the convict five years of

rigorous imprisonment

and a fine of Rs 25,000 after holding him guilty under Section 8 of the

Protection of Children from Sexual Offences

(POCSO) Act. He will have to face an additional year of imprisonment on failure of payment of the fine.

The convict is Ramesh, now 34 years old, hailing from Mangaluru taluk. He is a driver by profession.

Ramesh had developed an intimate relationship with a woman, a mother of two, including the victim. Whenever the mother was out of house, Ramesh used to sexually harass the 11-year-old girl. Though he kept taking sexual advantage of the girl for three years from 2013 – 216, the girl apparently was too young to realise that she was being harassed.

During an awareness programme on good touch and bad touch in the school in 2016, the girl realised that she was a victim and immediately brought her life incidents to the notice of her teachers. They, in turn, contacted the Mulki police station in the next couple of days.

During these three years, the victim stayed with her mother and elder brother at rented houses in three places in the taluk. Ramesh had harassed the girl in all these three houses.

A total of 15 witnesses were examined. Mulki police inspector

Ramachandra Nayak

filed the chargesheet. Special public prosecutor Venkataramana Swamy C represented the victim.

Judge BR Pallavi has directed that of the Rs 25,000 fine, Rs 20,000 be paid to the victim as compensation. She is also entitled for compensation from the District Legal Services Authority.