Visakhapatnam: A special POCSO court on Monday sentenced a 73-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a nine-year-old girl in Vizag. The court also sentenced the convict, Kolati Balayogi, to pay Rs 4 lakh to the victim and a fine of Rs 1,000.
The trial was completed in six months and 24 days, the police said. This is the second instance in three months when the police secured a speedy conviction.
The girl’s parents had reported the crime to the Arilova police on March 23, following which a case was registered under the POCSO Act. The investigation was taken up by AP Disha ACP Prem Kajal and Arivola circle inspector Emmanuel Raj.
According to the police, Balayogi had been raping the girl for five months after showing her obscene videos. He had threatened that he would kill her parents if she told them of the rape. However, the girl suffered from abdominal pains and was taken to a hospital, where doctors told the parents of the rape.
The girl was a student of Class 3 at the time of the incident.
While issuing the sentence, Judge K. Rama Srinivasa Rao lauded the police for collecting proper evidence. Visakhapatnam police commissioner Ch Srikanth also congratulated the Disha team on the conviction.
