THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A deputy tahsildar was sentenced to seven years rigorous imprisonment under Pocso Act for sexually abusing his 10-year-old daughter. The 52-year-old man was found guilty of the offence and sentenced by Principal Pocso Court judge K V Rajaneesh. The convict has also been imposed a fine of `16.5 lakh and a failure in paying the penalty will enhance the prison term by two more years.
The incident occurred in 2019. The girl, whose mother had died, faced the ordeal while she was sleeping with her father. The prosecution argument was that the man touched the girl inappropriately while she was asleep. The incident came to the fore when the school teacher found the girl not paying attention to her studies and remaining sullen in the class.
The teacher had a private conversation with the girl regarding this and it was during that chat that she confided to the teacher about her ordeal. The school authorities soon brought the matter to the attention of Pangode police, who registered the case. The investigation was done and the chargesheet was filed by Crime Branch DySP A Pramod Kumar.
The court observed that a father, who was supposed to take care of his child, had perpetrated a grave crime on her and hence he did not deserve any mercy. The court also directed the government to provide compensation to the victim under the victim compensation scheme.