Udupi: The Udupi Additional District POCSO Special Court has sentenced Sachin Pujari (26), a resident of Kota, to 37 years of rigorous imprisonment for the abduction and sexual assault of a minor girl in 2022. Pujari, a relative of the victim, exploited his relationship to gain her trust, eventually kidnapping and sexually assaulting her multiple times.

The court found Pujari guilty based on evidence, including witness testimonies and the recovery of gold ornaments he had stolen from the victim's family. He was convicted under various charges, including abduction, rape, extortion, and threats.

The court has sentenced the accused to various terms of imprisonment and fines for multiple offenses. The sentences include five years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000 for abducting the girl, ten years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 10,000 for rape, one year of imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 3,000 for extortion of money and gold jewelry, and one year of imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 2,000 for making threats. Additionally, the accused received twenty years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 20,000 for the rape of a minor girl.

The total fine imposed amounts to Rs. 40,000, with Rs. 30,000 to be paid to the victim and Rs 10,000 to the government. The court has also ordered that Rs. 2 lakh be given to the victim as compensation, with an additional Rs. 2 lakh to be provided to the victim by the government. All sentences are to be served concurrently.

Special public prosecutor YT Raghavendra represented the government in this case.

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ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.

“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.

The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.

Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.

There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.