A POCSO court in Mahbubnagar sentenced a 21-year-old man to life imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for sexually assaulting a minor. The convict, identified as Duppala Anand from Keshavapur village in Koyalakonda mandal, was found guilty of raping a 14-year-old girl who later became pregnant.
According to Mahbubnagar district police, the crime took place on December 21, 2020. Following a complaint filed by the victim’s mother, Koyalkonda police registered a case against Anand under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The court, delivering its verdict on March 18, also directed that Rs 5 lakh be provided as compensation to the victim. Authorities confirmed that the compensation was sanctioned to aid her rehabilitation.
In a separate case, the special POCSO court in Suryapet sentenced a 44-year-old man to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly sexually assaulting a 20-year-old woman from Atmakur (S). The convict, a distant relative of the survivor, was also fined Rs 30,000.
Police investigations revealed that the survivor, who lived with her mother following her father’s death, was repeatedly assaulted over five months while her mother was away for work. The convict threatened her and her family to prevent disclosure of the abuse. When the survivor became pregnant, he forced her to take miscarriage-inducing pills, leading to severe health complications. While being taken to the hospital, she delivered a stillborn foetus on the roadside.
Following the incident in 2021, Atmakur (S) police registered a case and arrested the accused. During the trial, the court examined testimonies from the survivor, her mother, and other witnesses, along with medical and forensic evidence, before convicting him.
Authorities confirmed that Rs 5 lakh was awarded as compensation to the survivor in this case as well.
