Udupi: Karate instructor gets 10-year jail for sexual assault of minor
Mangaluru (PTI): The Udupi Additional District and Sessions Court and Fast Track POCSO Court has sentenced a karate instructor to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a total fine of Rs 22,000 on finding him guilty of sexually assaulting a 12-year old girl at a karate class in Padubidri.
The court judge Srinivasa Suvarna sentenced Umesh Bangera to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed fine of Rs 10,000 each for offences under Section 6 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 376 (rape) of IPC respectively.
The karate instructor was also sentenced to one-year simple imprisonment and fined Rs 1,000 each for offences under Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC and section 8 of POCSO Act. All the sentences will run concurrently, the judge said.
According to the charge sheet submitted by the police, Umesh Bangera raped the girl on February 12, 2020 after completion of karate classes in Padubidri. On September 27, 2020, Bangera called the girl's mother and asked her to send her daughter for the class. The girl refused to go to the class and revealed to her mother about the sexual assault.
Following her complaint with the Kaup police, the then circle inspector of police Mahesh Prasad arrested Bangera and filed charge sheet for offences punishable under provisions of IPC and POCSO Act. Special pubic prosecutor Y T Raghavendra examined 13 witnesses before the court.
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US confirms Israel's attack on Iran, says it was not involved
Washington: In response to recent developments, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken addressed concerns regarding reported offensive operations involving Israel and Iran. Blinken emphasized that the United States has not been engaged in any offensive operations, stressing on the nation's commitment to de-escalating tensions in the region.
Speaking on behalf of the G7, Blinken reiterated the focus on de-escalation efforts, as reflected in their recent discussions and statements. He emphasized the importance of working collaboratively to reduce tensions and promote stability.
Earlier reports had indicated that the US received advance notification of a planned Israeli strike on Iran, scheduled for the coming days. However, Blinken clarified that while the US was informed of the intended strike, it did not endorse the action. This statement highlights the United States' stance of neutrality in the matter and its commitment to diplomatic solutions to mitigate tensions.
"We’re committed to Israel’s security. We’re also committed to de-escalating -- to trying to bring this tension to a close," Blinken said during a news conference at the conclusion of the group's meeting in Capri, Italy, hours after a US official told CNN that Israel had launched a military strike on Iran.
He also said the countries shared "a commitment to hold Iran to account."
Blinken said the nations condemned Iran's weekend strikes on Israel. He called those attacks "unprecedented in scope and scale; scope because it was a direct attack on Israel from Iran, scale because it involved more than 300 munitions including ballistic missiles."
