The Udupi district additional and sessions court (POCSO court) has sentenced a 32-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment on charges of sexual assault on a minor girl in Kota police limits four years ago.
The man had befriended a 15-year-old minor girl and one day, on the pretext of dropping her off to school in his car, forced himself on her. (Shutterstock)
Judge Srinivasa Suvarna found A Ashok, resident of Balakudru in Brahmavar taluk of Udupi district, guilty of the crime based on evidence provided by the police and sentenced him to 20 years rigorous imprisonment besides slapping a fine of ₹23,000 on him.
According to the charge sheet, the man had befriended a 15-year-old minor girl and one day, on the pretext of dropping her off to school in his car forced himself on her and took her into a house of another accused. He sexually abused the minor girl and dropped her back home. He also threatened and warned her against disclosing the act to anyone.
The girl revealed the matter to family members, who lodged a complaint with the police. An investigation was conducted by the then Deputy SP Jaishankar, who submitted the charge sheet to the POCSO court.
The court directed that ₹13,000 of the fine amount be paid to the victim. The court also directed the government to pay a compensation of ₹1 lakh to the girl. The court, however, acquitted the other accused in the case for want of evidence. Advocates Y T Raghavendra and Harishchandra appeared for the prosecution.
Yamini CS is a Senior Content Producer at Hindustan Times with nearly six years of experience in digital journalism. She is part of the India News desk, where she works on a wide range of stories cutting across civic issues, city-based developments, politics, governance, public policy, breaking news, trending topics, and international affairs that have an impact on India. Her role involves tracking fast-moving developments, verifying information from official and on-ground sources, and presenting news in a clear, accessible format for a digital-first audience. A significant part of her work includes handling live blogs during major news events, such as elections, court verdicts, political developments, civic disruptions, protests, weather-related alerts, and unfolding national or international incidents. Through live coverage, she focuses on timely updates to help readers follow complex stories as they evolve. Before moving to the broader India News desk, Yamini was associated with the Bengaluru desk at Hindustan Times, where she extensively covered urban governance, infrastructure, traffic and transport issues, weather events, public grievances, and civic administration in the city. This experience strengthened her grounding in city reporting and sharpened her focus on citizen-centric journalism. She began her career as a correspondent with Reuters after completing a postgraduate diploma in journalism from the Indian Institute of Journalism and New Media. Her early training instilled a strong emphasis on accuracy, sourcing, and news ethics, which continue to shape her reporting style. Outside of work, Yamini enjoys reading across genres, listening to music, and spending time with her family, which help her maintain balance in a fast-paced newsroom environment.
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