The Pocso court in Ongole has sentenced a 49-year-old man to 20 years of imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹10,000 for assaulting a 10-year-old girl in Prakasam district.
The convict has been identified as Sadhu Shyam of Parakondapadu village in Gudluru mandal.
According to the police, the incident took place on the morning of June 8, 2020. The accused entered the victim’s home when she had been watching television while her parents had been away working in the fields. He forcibly restrained the minor girl and committed the sexual assault.
Following a complaint by the victim’s parents, Gudluru police registered a case. ASI Muralidhar initially handled the case before handing it over to then Kandukuru DSP Kande Srinivasa Rao for further investigation. The DSP subsequently arrested the accused and filed the charge sheet in court.
Special public prosecutor G. Srinivasa Rao took up the case in the court on behalf of the prosecution. On presentation of the necessary witnesses and evidence, Special Pocso Court Judge K. Sailaja delivered the verdict on Friday. Apart from sentencing the accused to 20 years and imposing a fine of ₹10,000, the judge directed the District Legal Services Authority to provide ₹2,50,000 as compensation to the victim.
District superintendent of police V. Harshavardhan Raju commended the police officers and court staff for securing the conviction. He hoped strict judgments like this would serve as a strong deterrent against crimes targeting children.
Contract worker dies in Visakhapatnam Steel Plant accident
A 52-year-old contract worker died after an accident at the Coke Oven Battery-1 unit of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Friday.
According to steel plant sources, the incident occurred at around 11.45 am when an electrical bus bar reportedly fell from a height of about seven metres and struck the worker. The deceased was identified as Ananta Barve, an employee of Fosbel.
The injured worker was shifted to a private hospital in a critical condition, where he succumbed to his injuries at around 2 pm.
CITU leaders alleged that the electrical bus bar was part of equipment that had remained non-operational for the past two years and had not been dismantled despite being redundant. They claimed that the failure to remove the unused structure led to the fatal accident.
ACB traps Anantapur Endowments official taking bribe
Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) officials on Friday caught endowments assistant commissioner Mallikarjuna Prasad while allegedly accepting a bribe of ₹25,000 from a temple committee chairman in Anantapur district. According to Anantapur ACB DSP B. Prasad Reddy, ₹10 lakh had been sanctioned through the TTD’s SRIVANI Trust for the construction of a temple at Ramalingepalli village in Putlur mandal. The first instalment of ₹3 lakh had already been released. The ACB DSP alleged that Mallikarjuna Prasad demanded ₹25,000 from Ramalingepalli temple committee chairman Venkatrama Reddy in connection with release of the remaining funds. However, the chairman approached the ACB and filed a complaint. Officials of the Anti-Corruption Bureau then laid a trap and allegedly caught the Endowments official while accepting the bribe at his office. ACB arrested and produced Mallikarjuna Prasad before the ACB Court in Kurnool. Further investigation is underway. The endowments official had been scheduled to retire from service on July 31
Woman killed after dispute over ‘Thalliki Vandanam’ assistance; husband absconding
A 28-year-old woman was allegedly murdered by her husband following a dispute over financial assistance received under the state government’s ‘Thalliki Vandanam’ scheme at Kothapalli village in Peddathippasamudram (PTM) mandal of Annamayya district on Thursday night.
The victim, Padmavathi, is survived by her husband, Suresh, 37, and their two sons.
According to police, Suresh returned home in an inebriated condition and demanded the ‘Thalliki Vandanam’ money that had been credited to Padmavathi’s bank account. Police said she refused, stating that the money was meant for their children’s education.
Police alleged that an argument ensued, during which Suresh assaulted Padmavathi and later attacked her with a sharp weapon, causing fatal injuries. She died at the scene, while the accused fled.
Padmavathi’s parents alleged that Suresh had been harassing their daughter for a long time and killed her after she refused to hand over the money.
On receiving information, Peddathippasamudram police visited the spot and conducted a preliminary investigation. The body was shifted to the government district hospital, Madanapalle, for post-mortem examination.
A case has been registered and special police teams have been formed to trace the absconding accused. Further investigation is underway.
Three youths drown in Venkatayapalem canal
Three youths drowned in a canal near Venkatayapalem on Friday while attending a family function in Dr B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district.
The deceased were Kanikella Ranjith, 15, Bokka Veerendra, 19, both from Pasalapudi, and Vasudha Pavani, 14 of Padamara Khandrika village in Ramachandrapuram mandal. They were related and came to Velampalem village to attend the annual ceremony of their grandfather.
According to officials, the three entered the canal for a bath and were swept away by whirlpools. Police, fire services and revenue officials launched a search operation and recovered the bodies.
District in-charge minister K. Atchannaidu and labour minister Vasamsetti Subash expressed condolences to the bereaved family and assured them of governmental assistance.
Vasamsetti Subash visited the family members to console them. District collector Mahesh Kumar said the government would extend assistance to the affected families.
Ex-minister Jogi Ramesh, family booked on domestic violence complaint
Former minister Jogi Ramesh and 10 of his family members were booked by Ibrahimpatnam police on Friday following a complaint alleging domestic violence and other offences.
The complaint was lodged by Meghana, wife of Jogi Ramesh’s son, Jogi Rajeev. She alleged cheating, attempt to murder, domestic violence and dowry harassment against 11 members of the family.
Police have registered a case and are investigating the allegations.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: deccanchronicle.com
