Mangaluru: Court penalizes police officers for mishandling POCSO case

The Mangalore District Additional and POCSO Special Court has taken stern action against police officers involved in protecting the accused and falsely implicating innocent individuals in a POCSO case.

Three senior police officers, Circle Inspector Lokesh A.C, Sub-Inspector Srikala, and Sub-Inspector Pushparani, have been found guilty of negligence and dereliction of duty in the investigation.

The court ruling highlights that the officers failed to properly interrogate witnesses, examine relevant documents, and conduct a thorough investigation into the POCSO case.

Shockingly, they wrongfully filed a case against innocent laborers named Chandrappa and Prasad, while the actual culprits remained unaccounted for. As a consequence, the court has ordered heavy fines against the officers, with Rs. 4 lakh to be paid to Chandrappa and Rs. 1 lakh to Prasad within 40 days.

It is said that the victim, a resident of Vidyanagar Makki in Shirtadi village, lodged a complaint at Mangalore Women’s Police Station alleging that Prasad from the same town had raped her, resulting in a four-month pregnancy. However, during her statement before the Mangalore JMFC judge, the victim clarified that it was her landlord, Sandesh, and not Prasad, who committed the crime. Despite her fear of reprisal, she mentioned Prasad’s name in court.

Subsequently, on October 12, 2022, during further interrogation by Sub-Inspector Srikala, the victim altered her statement, accusing her father, Chandrappan, of the rape. Based on this new statement, Chandrappan was arrested on October 17, 2022, and produced before the court.

Former Circle Inspector Lokesh A.C., who served as the investigating officer in the case, is facing charges of negligence for not registering a case against the accused Sandesh. Additionally, it has been alleged that the blood sample of Sandesh, as well as that of the complainant’s father Chandrappa, was sent for DNA testing, while Sandesh’s sample was reportedly omitted.