23 witness testimonies got a Pocso accused convicted
Hyderabad: Witness testimonies of two mandal revenue officers (MROs), a house owner and 20 others, along with medical reports, proved a 22-year-old man guilty in a Pocso case, in which a 15-year-old girl lured into marriage and raped by the accused in Miyapur in 2018. On Wednesday, the Rajendranagar Pocso Court sentenced the accused to 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of Rs 8,000. The victim was awarded a compensation of Rs 3 lakh.
The accused has been identified as Pala Ramesh, 22, a carpenter and neighbour of the victim. The incident occurred when the victim was 15 years old, studying her Intermediate. The accused constantly pursued the victim to get into a relationship with him. After a couple of weeks, he allegedly trapped her into marrying him. Ramesh allegedly took the victim to his hometown in Kanuru in Krishna district.
On June 2, 2018, the parents lodged a missing complaint as they could not find their daughter. The Miyapur police tracked the accused’s phone and found the duo in Kanuru. The accused had first hired an auto and took the victim to Gachibowli. From there, the duo took a train to the accused’s hometown. After reaching Kanuru, the accused took her to a rented apartment.
After the victim was traced with the man a week later, her statement was recorded, where she confessed that the accused allegedly raped her at the rented apartment after marrying her. He also registered the marriage at the MRO office as the victim belongs to the SC/ST community and the man from the BC community. She also confessed that despite her attempting to stop him from raping her, he did not stop and further manipulated her by saying that it was a part of marriage, which made her upset in the subsequent days.
The victim was sent for a medical examination, and the reports proving the occurrence of an assault acted as key evidence in the court. Apart from that, the two marriage registrar officers and the owner of the rented apartment testified in court. A grocery shop owner near the victim’s house also testified. The victim’s parents also acted as a witness.
