62YO man sentenced to 20 yrs jail for raping minor girl in Vizianagaram

Vizianagaram: A special judge for POCSO court in Vizianagaram town on Tuesday sentenced a 62-year-old-man to 20-years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a nine-year-old girl in 2021. The court also slapped a fine of Rs. 10,000.

It is the third such judgement in the Vizag region in the past two months. In two other judgements, the accused were above 60 years old.

The Parvathipuram Manyam district police said the class-V student was living with her parents under Salur Town police station limits in the unified Vizianagaram district (now Salur comes under Parvathipuram Manyam district).

On 12 April 2021, while the girl was playing with her friends in her street, a woman tailor, Latha, asked the girl to hand over new garments to a customer who lived in the neighbouring street.

When the girl was returning after delivering the clothes, she lost her hairband. While she was searching for it, Naidu Satyanarayana lured her with a Rs. 10 currency note. Though the girl refused to take the money, Satyanarayana forcibly took her to his home, threatened her with a scissor, and raped her. Scared, the girl didn't disclose the incident to her family members

The heinous crime came to light on 25 April 2021 when the victim narrated the entire episode to her mother and elder brother. The girl's father lodged a complaint at the Salur police station.

Based on the father's complaint, the police, led by the DSP of Disha police station, Vizianagaram, T. Trinadh, registered a case against Satyanarayana under section 376 of the IPC and relevant sections of the POCSO Act 2012, and nabbed him.

The police completed the investigation and filed a charge sheet against Satyanarayana. After regular hearings, the POCSO court pronounced 20-years rigorous imprisonment for Satyanarayana and slapped a fine of Rs. 10,000 against him.