Man sentenced to 10 years in jail for raping minor

A pushcart vendor who raped a minor girl at his Bagalagunte house in 2018 has been sentenced to jail for 10-and-a-half years.

Twenty-nine-year-old Venkatesh, a resident of Bourne Mill Circle, North Bengaluru, has been convicted under IPC Section 376 (rape) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

At 3 pm on August 10, 2018, Venkatesh, who sold kebabs on a pushcart, caught hold of the 16-year-old girl, living in the same neighbourhood with her parents, when she came looking for her sister who was out playing. Venkatesh took the girl to his house and raped her.

Police arrested him the next day when the incident came to light. During the investigation, police recovered the clothes the girl wore on the day of the incident and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL). Police filed a charge sheet at the 55th CCH Court and produced the evidence they collected.

The girl turned hostile since the families of the accused and the victim wanted to solve the case by getting them married, but the court convicted Venkatesh based on the scientific evidence.

Besides the imprisonment, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on Venkatesh.