Daijiworld Media Network – Mangalore (SP)
Mangalore, Apr 29: The sixth additional district and sessions court has found Chandappa (34) from Belalu village in Beltnagady taluk guilty of raping a minor girl and sentenced him to seven years of imprisonment.
The above was the first ever judgment to have been delivered by the special court recently set up in the city for conducting speedy trial and quick disposal of cases of sexual assault on women. Presiding officer of the court, S H Pushpanjali Devi, delivered this judgment on Monday April 28.
Chandappa had been accused of raping a 17-year-old relative on May 14, 2012. The court, which pronounced the accused guilty of charges on April 26, had reserved its verdict on quantum of punishment for Monday.
Chandappa had been accused of enticing the girl to accompany him in an auto rickshaw by promising her to secure a job in a shop in Beltangady. After reaching a hilly terrain known as Malebettu, he had raped the girl, duly threatening to kill her if she raised an alarm. Police inspector from Beltangady, Bhaskar Rai, had investigated the case and filed charge sheet in the court.
The court examined a total 13 witnesses, and concluded that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the charges levelled against Chandappa, in spite of the fact that the father of the girl adduced evidence to the effect that his daughter had not been raped. Public prosecutor, K Shivaprasad Alva K, had presented the case on behalf of the prosecution.