Man sent to 20 years RI for raping minor

The Additional District and Sessions (Special POCSO) Fast Track Special Court-1 in Kalaburagi has sentenced a 24-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl.

The court, presided over by Judge S.L. Chavan, also clamped down heavily on the social evil of child marriage by sentencing the victim’s parents and her husband to one year of imprisonment. The judgment was delivered on Tuesday.

According to the prosecution, the main convict, Nagappa Chadabanura, a resident of Yaragola village in Yadgir district, targeted the minor girl by constantly stalking and talking to her.

In March 2024, when the victim was returning home from a toilet in the evening, he lured her with false promises of love and marriage.

Despite knowing she was a minor, he forcibly took her to a nearby thorny bush and raped her against her will.

The victim was subsequently forced into a child marriage on May 3, 2024 at the Korisiddeshwara Temple in Nalwar by her parents and other family members, who married her off to 25-year-old Siddappa Harakanchi.

Even after her marriage, Nagappa continued to harass the victim demanding that she leave her husband.

The harassment culminated on September 5, 2024 when Nagappa intercepted the victim at Nalwar village, forced her onto his motorcycle and took her to a secluded pigeon pea (tur dal) field.

There, he raped her again before abandoning her at the Wadi Railway Station under the pretext of fetching money.

When the victim disclosed her ordeal to her parents the following day, their attempt to confront Nagappa was met with death threats, prompting a police investigation.

Following a meticulous investigation led by Wadi Sub-Inspector of Police Tirumalesh and Chittapur Circle Inspector of Police Chandrashekhar Tigadi, a charge-sheet was filed under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the POCSO Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

Representing the State, Special Public Prosecutor Shanthaveera B. Thuppada successfully argued the case, presenting water-tight evidence and ensuring key witnesses were produced systematically before the court with the assistance of the police staff.

Pronouncing the sentences, Mr. Chavan convicted Nagappa under Section 6 of the POCSO Act sentencing him to 20 years in prison and imposed a fine of ₹25,000 on him, with an additional six months of simple imprisonment if he fails to pay.

He was also sentenced to one year in prison and imposed a ₹10,000 fine under Section 12 of the POCSO Act alongside concurrent sentences under BNS Sections 78 (one year prison, ₹10,000 fine) and 87 (three years prison, ₹25,000 fine).

Simultaneously, the court dealt strictly with the child marriage aspect of the case.

The victim’s husband, Siddappa, was sentenced to one year of imprisonment and fined ₹10,000 under Section 9 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. The victim’s 46-year-old father, Ningappa Badder, and her 40-year-old mother, Ningamma, were both sentenced to one year of imprisonment and fined ₹10,000 each under Section 10 of the same Act for facilitating the marriage of their underage daughter.

Failure to pay any of these individual minor fines will attract an additional month of simple imprisonment.

Recognising the severe physical and psychological trauma endured by the survivor, the court issued an empathetic and corrective directive. Mr. Chavan ordered the Legal Services Authority to provide a financial compensation of ₹5,00,000 to the victim. The court mandated that this compensation amount must be disbursed to the minor survivor within one month from the date of the judgment to assist in her rehabilitation and recovery.