Madikeri: Editor, reporter of newspaper sent to jail, fined for publishing minor rape victim's photo
Madikeri: In a recent judgment, the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Virajpet sentenced the editor and a reporter of the 'Cauvery Times,' a daily newspaper in Kodagu district, to one year of imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them. This decision came in response to their violation of the law by publishing the photograph of a minor who was raped and murdered in 2019.
The case dates back to 2019 when a minor was raped and murdered, leading to the registration of a case at the Siddapur Police Station. Subsequently, the accused in the case were arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. During the coverage of the case, reporter Vasanth Kumar from the 'Cauvery Times' included a photograph of the victim, a clear violation of the law that prohibits the publication of the identity or photograph of sexual offence victims.
In July 2019, the victim's brother filed a complaint with the Gonikoppa Police, stating that the publication of his sister's photograph in the 'Cauvery Times' had caused significant distress to his family. Sub-Inspector BS Sridhar, who had been the investigating officer in the case, initiated an investigation against both reporter Vasanth Kumar and the editor of the daily, Nanjappa. He submitted the chargesheet to the Second Additional District and Sessions Court in Virajpet.
The court heard the case on August 28, 2023, and subsequently sentenced the journalists to one year of imprisonment while also imposing a fine of Rs 25,000 on each of them. Additionally, Judge Sujatha ruled that if they failed to pay the fine, an additional three months of imprisonment would be imposed. The Virajpet court granted Nanjappa and Vasanth Kumar conditional bail in light of this judgment.
It is worth noting that reporter Vasanth Kumar had previously been fined Rs 1 lakh by the Junior Civil Court in Virajpet for publishing false news in the newspaper. Moreover, a separate case had been registered against him for utilizing a fake Registrar of Newspapers for India (RNI) number to publish the daily newspaper.
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School headmaster dies after bike falls into roadside ditch in Karnataka's Chitradurga
Chitradurga (Karnataka) (PTI): A school headmaster died and another person was seriously injured after their bike allegedly fell into a roadside ditch in this district on Wednesday, police said.
The deceased has been identified as Premkumar (45) of Rampura village in Molakalmuru taluk.
He was serving as the headmaster at Basaveshwara Rural High School in BG Kere village, they said.
The accident occurred near Vittalapura close to Devasamudra in Molakalmuru taluk on Wednesday evening, police said.
According to police, the accident occurred when the bike allegedly fell into a roadside ditch at a curve on the road connecting Rayadurg in Andhra Pradesh to Rampura.
The injured person has been identified as Ramanjaneya of Pakkurthi village. As he sustained severe injuries, he has been admitted to VIMS Hospital in Ballari for treatment, a senior police officer said.
A case has been registered at Rampura Police Station, police said, adding that further investigation is underway.
