Hassan court convicts three under POCSO Act

A Hassan court on Wednesday convicted three individuals accused of raping a minor and sentenced them to prison.

The incident was reported in 2015, and the Sakaleshpur Rural Police booked the case under Section 376(2) of the IPC, the POCSO Act, and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The police filed the chargesheet after the investigation.

The First Additional District and Sessions Judge heard the case. The prime accused, Rupesh of Basaravalli in Sakaleshpur, has been sentenced to life imprisonment under the SC-ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, in addition to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a penalty of ₹25,000 under the POCSO Act.

The second accused, Honnappa from Karlegadde in Mudigere taluk, has been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, along with a penalty of ₹25,000 under the POCSO Act. The third accused, Chandrashekhar from Galigundi in Sakaleshpur taluk, has been sentenced to seven years of simple imprisonment, along with a penalty of ₹25,000.

The convicted individuals raped a minor girl who was working at a plantation in 2015. Srinivasa Gowda, the special prosecutor, represented the prosecution during the hearing.