Vijayawada man gets 3-year RI for kidnapping minor girl

Vijayawada: A special court for a POCSO case in Vijayawada court on Friday sentenced a man to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 for kidnapping a minor girl. Vijayawada POCSO Court Judge Justice Velpula Bhavani delivered the verdict, convicting the accused, Battula Vishnu Vardhan, a native of Machavaram village in Kanigiri mandal of Prakasam district.According to police, the complainant from the Ferry Road area under Ibrahimpatnam police station limits reported that his 15-year-old daughter left home on the morning of Feb 6, 2021, saying she was going to school, but did not return.Subsequently, the complainant lodged a complaint with the Ibrahimpatnam police on Feb 10, 2021. Based on the complaint, the then SI G Ramesh registered a missing case.During the investigation, police found that the accused, Battula Vishnu Vardhan alias Vishnu (20), was in contact with the minor over the phone for several days. He allegedly misled her by claiming that their relationship came to the notice of her family and that they would be separated.On that pretext, the accused reportedly took the minor girl to Visakhapatnam and behaved inappropriately with her. Following this, the case was altered to Section 363 of the IPC and Section 12 of the POCSO Act.