70-Year-Old Gets 20-Year RI in POCSO Case in Hyderabad
The accused is sentenced to undergo RI 20 years and ordered to pay a fine of Rs.5,000 and failure to pay the fine will result in an additional six months of simple imprisonment
Hyderabad: Judge M. Archana Kumari of the XII Additional Sessions Court for Pocso Act cases on Tuesday convicted 70-year-old Mohammed Zameeruddin to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a minor girl. The judge also imposed a fine of ₹5,000 on Zameruddin. The convict later was escorted to the Cherlapally central prison.
According to the police, Crime No. 229 of 2023 was initially registered by the Chandrayangutta police and later transferred to Santoshnagar police on grounds of jurisdiction.
The prosecution established that the victim went to a local stationery-cum-kirana store at Santoshnagar to purchase a milk packet where shopkeeper Zameeruddin, then aged 65, lured the child inside, showed her explicit material, subjected her to severe sexual assault and threatened her to try and silence her, Santoshnagar police said.
Upon returning home in tears, the victim child narrated the ordeal to her uncle which led to her parents to lodge a complaint with the police. Zameruddin was arrested and charged under the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.
Police commissioner V.C. Sajjanar commended then investigation officer P. Shiva Chandra (then Santoshnagar inspector, currently with the Hyderabad cybercrime police) for leading the probe and conveyed special appreciation of additional public prosecutors A. Ram Reddy and J. Rama Krishna, for their effective presentation of evidence.
Santoshnagar station house officer K. Satyanarayana said the efforts of legal support officers T. Kalpana, A.R. Hima Menon, and Nausheen, alongside constable D. Nagaraju, court duty officer, and head constable Purnachandar Rao, process duty officer, were instrumental in ensuring timely production of witnesses and seamless coordination.
