Home guard gets 30 years Rigorous Imprisonment in rape case in Hyderabad
HYDERABAD: In a sensational judgment, a home guard who raped a physically challenged girl several times which led to her become pregnant, has been sentenced to Rigorous Imprisonment for 30 years under the provisions of the POCSO Act and was slapped a fine of Rs50,000.
Botla Mallikarjun, a home guard attached to the Central Crime Station (CCS) of Hyderabad city police, was convicted of raping the girl, an ST, at Tukaramgate on several occasions.
The special court for POCSO cases, delivering the judgment, also directed the government to pay a compensation of Rs 7 lakh to the victim.“ The offence is heinous. The accused is a person working in the police department as a home guard, who is expected to safeguard the life and safety of people. He would know the consequences of the offence,” the court said.
The case was reported to police on February 18 and it stands disposed of, in 78 days of filing the final chargesheet. This is the first time that a court has sentenced a convict to 30 years’ RI. The court found Mallikarjun guilty based on the DNA samples collected from the foetus, after it was aborted following legal procedures and also the statement of the victim.
The victim’s family were tenants in the house owned by Mallikarjun’s grandmother for over 10 years. In 2020, they shifted to another house. During February 2021, the victim fell sick and complained of uneasiness. She was taken to hospital where she was found to be five months pregnant. On inquiry, the girl confided in her mother that during their stay in their old rented house, in the month of October 2020, the accused entered their house, under the pretext of taking groceries and sexually assaulted her.
He also threatened to kill her and harm her family members if she revealed it to others.
Based on the victim’s mother’s complaint, a case under Sections 376 (2) IPC, 506 of the IPC IPC, 6 read with 5(l) of POCSO Act and Prevention of Atrocities against SC & STs Act was registered at Tukaramgate police station on February 18 and Botla Mallikarjun was arrested and sent to remand.