SIVAGANGA: The Special Court for Trial of Pocso Act Cases in Sivaganga on Friday awarded five death sentences, four life-terms and 22 years rigorous imprisonment to a 49-year-old man for sexually assaulting five minor girls.
According to sources, the convict, M Chandran, is a daily wage labourer from Sivaganga district. He had lured the girls aged below 10 years by offering them money and snacks, and sexually assaulted them at his house for several months in 2023. He had also enticed the children by teaching them how to play video games at his house, sources added.
The matter came to light after the father of one of the girls lodged a police complaint in this regard in February 2024. Subsequently, the Thiruppathur All Women Police registered a case against him under Pocso Act. He was then remanded in judicial custody and also detained under the Goondas Act.
Hearing the case on Friday, Sessions Judge R Gokul Murugan found Chandran guilty and awarded him five death sentences, to run concurrently, and imposed a Rs 11,000 fine.
The judge appreciated the victim’s father, and other girls for bringing the crime to light. He also directed the state to pay Rs 7 lakh compensation to each victim.
This is the first time the Sivaganga Special Court for Trial of Pocso Act Cases is awarding five death sentences to a convict.