General Education Minister V Sivankutty orders probe into Pocso case accused's presence at school event
The minister directed the deputy director of education, Thiruvananthapuram, to conduct an inquiry and submit a report.
The incident came as a major embarrassment to the government that had recently taken stern action against Pocso-accused teaching and non-teaching staff and even removed a few of them from service.
Vlogger Mukesh M Nair was roped in as one of the guests of the event held at Fort High School, West Fort.
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Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
19-year-old gets life imprisonment till last breath for gangrape of minor
Surat: A 19-year-old man was sentenced to life imprisonment till last breath for the gangrape of a 15-year-old girl by a special court for the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act in Dharampur of Valsad. The convict and and a 15-year-old boy had raped the minor in the bathroom of a school . The cases against the minor accused are being heard by the Juvenile Justice Board. Special POCSO court Judge M A Mirza found him guilty of gangrape, wrongful restraint, kdnapping, and POCSO Act sections of penetrative sexual assault, gang penetrative sexual assault on a child), aggravated penetrative sexual assault and others. On Aug 24 last year, the accused and his friend kidnapped the minor on a motorcycle when she was returning from a grocery shop near her home in a village of Dharampur taluka. They took her to a nearby Ashram Shala school building and raped her in the bathroom. The school was closed due to a holiday. Meanwhile, a boy from the village came to the survivor's home and informed her father about kidnapping. The father went in that direction and found the two boys coming out of the school and running towards a hill. The minor was found in the bathroom with severe injuries. Her parents found a motorcycle and a mobile phone of the accused at the spot. The two were arrested after a few days. The court ordered Rs 6 lakh compensation to the survivor under the Gujarat Victim Compensation Scheme. At the same time, the ordered action against the medical officer of Valsad GMERS hospital, Dr Tanmay Patel, who submitted in court that the bleeding from the private part of the survivor was due to the menstrual cycle. "The court questioned Dr Patel to explain the characteristics of menstrual blood if the bleeding of the survivor matched. The survivor was not wearing a sanitary pad as well," said Anil Tripathi, district government pleader, Valsad. "It transpires from the records that Dr Tanmay was negligent in performing his duty. Despite the survivor describing the history of the crime to him, he claimed the bleeding from the private part of the minor was of the menstrual cycle without any verification or investigation using scientific methods. It is found to be opposite to the other evidence of the medical officer," the court observed. The Supreme Court and the law have mentioned the required sensitivity and diligence in such cases from medical officers. Despite that, Dr Tanmay submitted opposite evidence to the facts of the crime in the court. "The court takes serious note of the behaviour of Dr Tanmay Patel. The court directs that he should be given training, actions should be taken against him, and his clarification should be asked so that such a thing is not repeated, the court stated in the order.
Indian Express
6 hours ago
- Indian Express
Bombay HC sets aside man's conviction, death penalty for rape of 2-year-old girl
The Bombay High Court on Wednesday set aside a February 2022 trial court verdict that convicted and sentenced a labourer to death for raping a two-and-a-half-year-old girl in Pune district in February 2021. It directed the fast-track trial court to re-hear arguments based on additional evidence and decide the case afresh, in accordance with law and 'without being influenced' by the high court's order. 'Since this is a case of capital punishment, the court has to ensure that all opportunities are afforded to the accused to defend himself. The accused must get one opportunity to argue all aspects with respect to additional evidence before the trial court itself, so that he does not lose one forum,' the High Court said. A bench of Justices Sarang V Kotwal and Shyam C Chandak passed the order while considering the state government's plea seeking confirmation of the death sentence awarded to Sanjay Baban Katkar, along with Katkar's appeal challenging his conviction. According to police, in February 2021, the girl was kidnapped from outside her home while she was playing in the front yard. The investigation relied on the account of a rickshaw driver who had dropped a man and a child nearby, and a local woman who directed police towards the route taken by the man. The girl was found dead inside a cement pipe next to a bridge, and medical examination revealed she was raped. Police arrested a brick-kiln worker, who was convicted and sentenced to death under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. However, he was not sentenced for the offence of murder. In his interim application appealing the conviction, among other claims, the worker argued that the forensic experts who prepared key DNA reports were not examined during the trial, denying him the chance to challenge their findings. He also sought lab records and worksheets to scrutinise the evidence. The high court, in July last year, had directed the trial court to comply with these requests, after which the record and proceedings were sent to the high court. Advocate Rebecca Gonsalves, representing the accused worker, argued that the matter needed to be remanded to the special court in light of a Supreme Court judgment in another case with 'strikingly similar' facts and issues. The high court referred to the SC judgment and found it 'necessary to remand back the matter.' It added that the trial court can consider additional evidence and ascertain its cumulative effect with other evidence. However, the trial court should not conduct a full re-trial or re-record all evidence. 'If this course is not adopted, then the accused would lose his valuable right to having the entire evidence appreciated by the first forum, i.e., the trial court. We are ensuring that this does not happen and he gets full opportunity to raise all grounds based on additional evidence before the trial court,' the bench noted.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Time of India
From victim to accused: Karnataka man claims murder attempt by minor wife; faces child marriage, Pocso charges
RAICHUR: Marriage, deep differences, mutual separation and arrest - all in three months. A 22-year-old agricultural labourer's dream life swung from purple-prose marriage to high drama on a bridge to now attending police inquiry - and a possible arrest - on charges of marrying an underaged girl. About 10 days after Thatappa alias Tataiah from Shaktinagar, near Raichur, alleged his wife Gangavva (name changed) pushed him off the Krishna bridge in the district into the river in a bid to kill him, the groom has been booked under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. Police said the marriage took place in Raichur on April 18. However, it hit a rough patch within weeks and their families, too, were at daggers drawn, turning any reconciliatory efforts futile. You Can Also Check: Bengaluru AQI | Weather in Bengaluru | Bank Holidays in Bengaluru | Public Holidays in Bengaluru Thatappa and Gangavva went to the Gurjapur barrage in the district on a bike on July 11. While pretending to take his photograph on the bridge, the woman allegedly pushed him into the river. Thathappa fell into the river in a splash, but soon emerged overground unscathed. A video of the incident came into the public domain a few days later and became viral. Soon, the couple parted ways by mutual consent, without the legal sanction of a divorce, after the bridge fiasco. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Is it legal? How to get Internet without paying a subscription? Techno Mag Learn More Undo Probe revealed Thatappa's wife is a minor. Raichur Women's Police filed charges against Thatappa, his mother, and the bride's mother under the Prohibiiton of Child Marriage Act. Officials from State Child Rights Commission and women and child welfare department were notified. Subsequently, panchayat development officer Ravikumar of Devasugur gram panchayat filed a formal police report regarding the incident. The district's child protection unit has sent the minor to the district girls' home. Shashidhar Kosambe, a member of State Commission for Protection of Child Rights, said Thatappa and the minor lived together as a couple for a short period. Therefore, a case under Pocso should be filed against him. If not, the commission will initiate a suo motu case. Yadgir district child protection officer sent a letter to the Raichur DCPO requesting that a case be filed against the man and others under Child Marriage Act and Pocso.
