Man Gets 10 Years Rigorous Imprisonment For Minor Girl’s Suicide

Special Pocso court judge M.A. Somashekar pronounced the verdict in the case registered at Chintakommadinne police station under Crime No. 244/2018, convicting Bavikadda Vishnu Gopal (21).

According to the prosecution, the accused and the victim were classmates. The accused sexually assaulted the minor girl, resulting in her pregnancy. When she asked him to marry her, he refused. Deeply distressed by his rejection, the girl died by suicide by jumping before a train on the down railway track between Kadapa and Krishnapuram railway stations on September 2, 2018.

Initially, the Kadapa Railway Police registered a case under Section 174 of the CrPC. During the subsequent investigation, evidence emerged pointing to the accused's involvement, following which the case was transferred to the Chintakommadinne police station.

Police registered cases under Sections 376 and 306 of the IPC, Section 3(2)(v) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and Section 6 of the Pocso Act, 2012.

After examining the evidence and witness testimonies presented by the prosecution, the special court convicted the accused in SC No. 205/2022 and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, besides imposing a fine of `15,000 under Section 235(2) of the CrPC. Special public prosecutor Kommineni Venugopal represented the victim's side and presented the arguments before the court.