Karnataka: In separate cases, 2 men get 20 years rigorous imprisonment for rape

Special fast-track court meant for POCSO cases sentenced both men to 20 years rigorous imprisonment and also levied fines.

A Karnataka man has been sentenced to 20 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a 17-year-old girl, news agency PTI reported. The case was heard by a special fast-track court meant for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) cases. The man, identified as Preetam Babu, aka Chitti Babu, was found guilty of charges that included kidnapping.

A man was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment of 20 years for raping a minor girl in Bengaluru. (HT PHOTO.)

The crime occurred in December 2017 when Preetam Babu took the girl to a friend's place.

Judge Ishrath Jehan sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment for rape with a fine of ₹5,000 and seven years imprisonment and ₹5,000 fine for the kidnap. The sentences will run concurrently.

The court also granted the rape survivor compensation of ₹4 lakh - to be provided by the Karnataka Legal Services Authority - with another ₹10,000 to be paid by the convict as fine.

Meanwhile, in a similar case in Karnataka's Udupi, another POCSO court sentenced a 55-year-old man to 20 years imprisonment for raping a girl last year. The court also fined him ₹25,000.

Justice Srinivas Suvarna pronounced the sentence on Monday against Hanumantha, a resident of Haveri, who had been employed in the farmhouse at which the rape survivor and her mother were staying, and raped the girl when she was alone in the house.