The Second Additional District and Special Sessions Court in Kalaburagi on Monday sentenced Bhimashankar, a resident of Ingalgi village in Chittapur taluk, to rigorous life imprisonment and imposed on him a fine of ₹ 1.10 lakh for sexually assaulting a minor girl.
As per Special Public Prosecutor L.V. Chatnalkar, who argued for the State, the convict had sexually assaulted the minor girl on the evening of August 4, 2017 and fled when two people arrived on the spot.
Following a complaint lodged by the victim’s father, a case was registered at the Wadi Police Station under various sections of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (PoCSO) Act 2012.
Circle Inspector of Police Shankargouda V. Patil attached to Chittapur Police Station investigated the case and filed a charge-sheet confirming the crimes specified in the complaint.
After hearing both sides, the judge, Gopalappa S., found the accused guilty of the crimes specified in the charge-sheet and pronounced the judgment on Monday.
The judge awarded rigorous life imprisonment to the guilty and imposed a fine of ₹ 1 lakh on him under Section 376(2)(N) of IPC (punishment for rape) and Section 6 of PoCSO Act. He also awarded a two-year imprisonment to him and imposed a fine of ₹ 10,000 under Section 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of IPC.
The judge ordered the District Legal Services Authority to pay ₹ 5 lakh compensation to the victim.
