Man sentenced to 20 years in prison by Kerala court for sexual assault of minor
Palakkad (Kerala) (PTI): A Kerala court on Friday sentenced a man to 20 years in prison for the repeated sexual assault of a minor girl whom he had befriended on social media.
Pattambi Fast Track Special Court judge Satish Kumar sentenced the man to 20 years for the offence of repeated aggravated penetrative sexual assault of a minor under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 1.5 lakh on the convict with a direction that the amount, if realised, be paid to the victim, Special Public Prosecutor Nisha Vijayakumar said.
The court also sentenced the man to two years in prison for the offence of house trespass under the IPC.
The man, hailing from Kollam, had befriended the minor girl on social media in 2021 and after they got close, he turned up at her house when her parents were not present and sexually assaulted her, the SPP said.
Subsequently, he showed up at her house several times during that year in the absence of her parents and sexually assaulted her, the prosecutor added.
As his sexual demands began increasing and he started making threats to make the victim comply, she told her parents who in turn informed the police, the SPP said.
A complaint was lodged against the accused in 2022, she said.
The prosecutor said that 21 witnesses were examined during the trial.
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Voting underway for local body elections in Gujarat
Ahmedabad (PTI): Voting got underway on Sunday morning for elections to several local bodies in Gujarat, including 15 municipal corporations and 84 municipalities.
Polling began at 7 am and will continue till 6 pm, as per the schedule announced by the State Election Commission.
The elections are being held for 15 municipal corporations, including Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara and Rajkot, 84 municipalities, 34 district panchayats and 260 taluka panchayats, making it one of the largest electoral exercises in the state.
A total of 9,992 candidates are in the fray, with more than 4.18 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise.
A three-tier security is in place, aided by CCTV surveillance and deployment of special squads in sensitive areas, police officials said.
The polls are being conducted under revised norms for Other Backward Classes (OBC) reservations, and required extensive delimitation and restructuring of wards in several districts.
The ruling BJP, Opposition Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have emerged as the key players, while All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) is also contesting in several places.
Among notable candidates are former Gujarat-cadre IPS officer M L Ninama, ex-radio jockey Abha Desai, and former AAP MLA Bhupendra Bhayani.
Ninama is contesting from the Odh seat in Shamlaji taluka for the Arvalli district panchayat elections, while the BJP has nominated Bhayani from the Bhesan seat of the Junagadh district panchayat.
Desai, popularly known as RJ Abha, is contesting as a Congress candidate from ward number 10 of the Rajkot Municipal Corporation.
Elections are also being held for the first time in nine newly-created municipal corporations, including Navsari, Gandhidham, Morbi, Vapi, Anand, Nadiad, Mehsana, Porbandar and Surendranagar.
Counting of votes will take place on April 28.
Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel campaigned extensively for the BJP.
The AAP had taken the lead over other parties in launching the campaign, with its national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann addressing several rallies across Gujarat.
In a first for AAP, the Kejriwal-led party is contesting around 5,000 seats in local polls.
Other contestants include the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Independents.
AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi campaigned in the final phase, addressing public meetings in Ahmedabad and Bhuj.
In March 2021, the BJP scored a landslide win in the local polls in Gujarat, winning 6,236 out of 8,470 seats across various municipalities and establishing a wide gap with rival Congress.
The BJP had then dominated all six municipal corporations, besides 81 municipalities, 32 district panchayats, and 231 taluka panchayats.
