Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) courts in Kerala sentenced three accused in separate incidents from the state. Incidentally, all the convicts are Abrahamic. The victims include girls and boys.
Kattakkada Fast Track POCSO court sentenced 43-year-old Mujeeb Rehman to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment and to pay a fine of Rs 50,000. He raped a minor girl at Nemom on the outskirts of Thiruvananthapuram. He is also a criminal who exploited the hunger of a young victim, promising to feed her when she was famished.
In 2015, the girl’s mother visited her sister, who was in the hospital. Rehman lived next door to the victim’s house. When the girl returned from school, Rehman made her believe that he would give her food. He convinced the survivor that his wife and children were at home.
Once there, Rehman brutally raped the girl and recorded the footage. The accused also threatened the girl, saying that if she revealed the sexual assault, he would release the nude videos. This silenced the survivor.
After seeing no one in the house, the victim had gone out when Rehman took over. The accused locked her up in his house and raped her.
A few days later, Rehman’s wife saw the images on his mobile phone and showed them to the victim’s mother. The mother filed a complaint with the Kattakkada police and registered a case.
Rehman will undergo six months of rigorous imprisonment if the fine is not paid. The amount should be paid to the victim.
C.R. Ravichander, the Irinjalakuda Fast Track Special Court Judge, sentenced Oolakal Abdul Rahim (46) of Kodungallur (Thrissur) to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment, two years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,10,000. Rahim was accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl.
The relevant incident took place in February 2018. Rahim kidnapped the victim and sexually assaulted her. Kodungallur police sub-inspector P.K. Padmarajan registered the case, conducted the investigation and submitted the charge sheet.
The prosecution produced 19 witnesses, 29 documents and seven exhibits. While Special Public Prosecutor Adv. Viju Vazakhala appeared, and Liaison Officer T.R. Raji coordinated the prosecution proceedings. Rahim was shifted to Thrissur District Jail.
The court sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under the POCSO Act and a fine of Rs 1,00,000. If Rahim defaults, he will undergo six months of imprisonment.
He was also awarded two years imprisonment, a fine of Rs 10,000, and in default of one month imprisonment under the Indian Penal Code. The court also ordered that the fine be collected and paid to compensate the victim.
Devikulam (Idukki) Fast Track Special Court (POCSO) judge Sirajudheen P.A. found 60-year-old Joy Joseph guilty of serious sexual assault against a ten-year-old boy. Joseph was sentenced to ten years in prison for several crimes under the POCSO Act and the Indian Penal Code.
When the 10-year-old returned from school in August 2017, he went to his courtyard to pick guavas. Joseph entered the farm and tricked the victim into thinking his father was picking cocoa fruits on the property. The boy accompanied Joseph, but his father was not there.
Joseph reached inside the minor’s trousers and grabbed his private parts, making the boy cry out in pain. The paedophile then raised his dhoti and rubbed himself. The victim kicked Joseph and fled.
The defence claimed that the victim had family issues and that his father was a drunkard. They also tried to mislead by mentioning formalities. The victim’s mother said that though her husband was an alcoholic, he was very vigilant and a responsible father. She deposed that her husband had neither ill-treated nor manhandled their son.
Joseph claimed his wife and two girl children were utterly dependent on him. The judge denied the convict’s request for freedom and kind treatment. He added that releasing the accused on probation will undoubtedly send the wrong message to society.
