Mangaluru: The Additional District and Sessions Court, FTSC-2 POCSO Special Court, Judge Manu K. S., on Wednesday sentenced accused K.S. Keshav Poojary (43) to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a 15-year-old girl in Kalkaje Dondole, Dharmasthala village, Belthangady. The court also imposed a fine of Rs. 55,000 on the accused.

According to sources, the accused, K.S. Keshav Poojary, was a neighbor of the victim and frequently visited her house. He raped the girl despite her objections when nobody was at the house. Later, the girl's mother noticed swelling in her daughter's leg and took her to the hospital, accompanied by the accused. During the medical examination, it was discovered that the girl was five months pregnant.

The accused immediately pressured the girl to conceal his identity and instructed her to name someone else as the perpetrator. Fearing his threats, the girl initially provided a false name.

However, after receiving counseling and regaining her courage, she revealed that Keshav Poojary was responsible for her pregnancy. Based on her statement, the Dharmasthala police arrested the accused. Police Inspector Nagesh K. filed a charge sheet against him.

Although the girl underwent an abortion, DNA testing of the fetal material, along with blood samples from the girl and the accused, confirmed that Keshav Poojary was the biological father.

The trial judge sentenced Keshav Poojary to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 50,000 under Sections 376(2)(n), 376(3), and section 6 of the POCSO Act for the rape.

Additionally, he was sentenced to three months of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs. 5,000 under Section 506 for criminal intimidation. The court ordered the accused to pay a total of Rs. 55,000 to the victim. Furthermore, the District Legal Services Authority was directed to provide additional compensation of Rs. 6,45,000 to the girl under the Victims' Compensation Scheme.

Special Public Prosecutor K. Badrinath Nayari represented the government in the case.

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New Delhi: A 4.0-magnitude earthquake struck Delhi early this morning at 5:36 a.m., causing strong tremors across the national capital and neighbouring regions. According to the National Centre for Seismology (NCS), the quake had a shallow depth of 5 km, with Delhi as the epicentre.  

 

Tremors were felt across several parts of north India. No immediate reports of damage or casualties have been received.  

 

Delhi, situated in seismic zone IV as per the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) seismic zonation map, is prone to earthquakes.  

 

Last month, on January 23, strong tremors were experienced in Delhi-NCR after a 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck China’s Xinjiang region. Earlier, on January 11, mild tremors were recorded following a 6.1-magnitude quake in Afghanistan.