Mangaluru: Police constable sentenced to life imprisonment for abetting suicide

Mangaluru: A POCSO court in Mangaluru convicted a former police constable for abetting the suicide of a minor.

The Additional District and Sessions Court (which hears POCSO-related cases) held Praveen Salian (35), who was a constable in the District Armed Reserve Police, guilty of sexual harassment of the minor girl as well as inciting her to commit suicide. The court sentenced him to life imprisonment.

Case Details:

According to the charge sheet filed by the police, Praveen Salian, a resident of Bajpe Siddharth Nagar, befriended the minor girl on Facebook in 2015. He pretended to love the girl and shared sexually explicit material with her. Later, he demanded money and jewellery from the girl and threatened her with dire consequences.

Fearing repercussions, the girl ended her life on June 10, 2015. A case in this regard was filed at the Ullal police station.

The police conducted a thorough investigation and submitted the charge sheet against Praveen in court.

After examining the evidence, the court sentenced Praveen to life imprisonment and Rs 10,000 in fines under IPC section 305, and 3 years of rigorous imprisonment as well as a Rs 1,000 fine under POCSO Section 12.