M’luru: Man convicted of raping minor; sentenced to 10-year rigorous imprisonment

Mangaluru: A court here convicted a man of raping a minor girl and sentence him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed Rs 30,000 penalty for raping a minor girl.

Naveen alias Naveen Pujari alias Naveen Suvarna (42) of Pacchanadi Vaidyanath Nagar was convicted and sentenced by the court. Whereas, 3 others who were accused in the case were acquitted for lack of evidence.

Case Details:

The victim, a girl studying in Class 9, was in a love relationship with a youth named Samndeep Kulal. Naveen, who got to know of this, blackmailed the girl and repeatedly sexually assaulted her at the house of his acquaintance Sudha over a period of 3 months.

It was alleged that Sudha had aided and abetted Naveen in the crime. It was also alleged that Puneeth Kumar, an engineering student and a native of Harpanahalli Machihalli Tanda in Davangere, had also blackmailed and raped the victim.

The crime came to light after the girl got pregnant and visited a hospital. Mangaluru Rural Police had registered a POCSO case against Naveen, Sandeep, Sudha, and Puneeth.

DNA test results proved conclusive

The DNA of the baby boy, whom the girl had delivered, proved that Naveen Suvarna was the father of the child.

After examining the evidence and eyewitness testimonies, the Additional Sessions Court FTSC-2 (POCSO) convicted Naveen. He was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a Rs 30,000 fine under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the POCSO act.

The other accused — Sandeep, Sudha, and Puneeth — were acquitted in the case.