K'taka HC denies plea to quash case against man accused of assaulting mentally challenged minor
Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka has refused to quash criminal proceedings against a man from Tumakuru accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old mentally challenged girl. Justice M Nagaprasanna observed that dismissing the proceedings would amount to a "travesty of law," given the nature of the allegations.
The incident occurred on December 10, 2023, when the petitioner allegedly lured the victim to his house under the pretext of giving her sugarcane. Although her mother became aware of the incident on the same day, she delayed filing a complaint by 11 days due to social pressures and her daughter's disability. The child later complained of persistent pain, prompting the complaint.
The Tumakuru police charged the petitioner under s. 376(l) of the IPC and s. 4 of the POCSO Act.
The petitioner argued that the delay in registering the complaint and the victim's mental condition warranted quashing the case. He also claimed that the victim's statement under s. 164 of the CrPC lacked credibility. However, Justice Nagaprasanna noted that the victim had identified the petitioner and provided sufficient details about the incident in her statement.
The court held that the allegations were "heinous and horrendous," describing the petitioner's behaviour as prima facie paraphilic. It emphasised that reliance on isolated statements from a mentally challenged child during cross-examination cannot justify quashing the proceedings.
The trial court has been instructed to conclude the case within three months.
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South African police arrest suspect in mass shooting that killed 12, including 3 children
Johannesburg (AP): A 32-year-old suspect has been arrested in connection with a mass shooting which claimed the lives of 12 people including three children at an unlicensed pub earlier this month, South African police said on Monday.
The man is suspected of being one of the three people who opened fire on patrons in a pub at Saulsville township, west of South Africa's capital Pretoria, killing 12 people including three children aged 3, 12 and 16.
At least 13 people were also injured during the attack, whose motive remains unknown.
According to the police, the suspect was arrested on Sunday while traveling to Botlokwa in Limpopo province, more than 340 km from where the mass shooting took place on Dec 6.
An unlicensed firearm believed to have been used during the attack was recovered from the suspect's vehicle.
“The 32-year-old suspect was intercepted by Limpopo Tracking Team on the R101 Road in Westenburg precinct. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, a hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis,” police said in statement.
The suspect was arrested on the same day that another mass shooting at a pub took place in the Bekkersdal township, west of Johannesburg, in which nine people were killed and 10 wounded when unknown gunmen opened fire on patrons.
Police have since launched a search for the suspects.
South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world and recorded more than 26,000 homicides in 2024 — an average of more than 70 a day. Firearms are by far the leading cause of death in homicides.
The country of 62 million people has relatively strict gun ownership laws, but many killings are committed with illegal guns, according to authorities.
According to police, mass shootings at unlicensed bars are becoming a serious problem. Police shut down more than 11,000 illegal taverns between April and September this year and arrested more than 18,000 people for involvement in illegal liquor sales.
