Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Dec 11: The second additional sessions and POCSO court here found Hameed (44) guilty of winning over trust of a minor girl by promising to marry her, raping her and forcing her to abort the pregnancy. It handed seven years rigorous imprisonment (RI) and fine of Rs 20,000 to Hameed, who is from Katipalla second block near Suratkal.

The girl used to live in a rented house near Suratkal along with her mother. Hameed knew her since long. On Februay 22, 2014, when the girl was alone at home, he raped her by convincing her of his honest intentions to marry her. During the next few months, he often visited the girl's house and developed physical intimacy. The girl became pregnant, after which he forced her against her wish to abort it.

A case about this was filed at Suratkal police station. Inspector, M A Nataraj, who probed the case, filed a chargesheet.

Judge of the court, Pallavi B R, said that the guilty will have to undergo 12 months of additional imprisonment in case of failure to pay the fine. Out of the fine amount, Rs 15,000 would be disbursed to the aggrieved girl, who also is eligible to claim compensation through the district legal services authority, she added.

A total of 19 witnesses were examined in this case. POCSO court special public prosecutor, C Venkataraana Swamy, argued the case on behalf of the prosecution.