Adilabad: A special court for POCSO cases in Adilabad sentenced a 45-year-old man to rigorous imprisonment (RI) of 20 years for raping a minor girl in April this year. The court has also slapped a fine of Rs 2,000 on the convict.

POCSO court Judge Madhavi Krishna pronounced the judgment. The court cross-examined nine witnesses and examined pieces of evidence produced before it by public prosecutor M Ramana Reddy.

The convict, identified as Shaik Khaled, had sexually assaulted a Six-year-old girl from Utnoor mandal centre, when she was alone, by luring her with Rs 5 on April 15. The police swung into action after receiving a complaint from the victim’s parents, a beggar couple from Maharashtra. The police filed an FIR and under the supervision of the then Utnoor Additional Superintendent of Police Harshavardhan investigations took place.

The investigating team filed a chargesheet against the accused within 60 days of filing the case and completed the probe in just 135 days. The investigating officers have expressed their satisfaction over the quantum of sentence as it is greater than the life imprisonment. Incidentally, it was the first case in which the special court delivered the verdict.

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