BASAR, 30 Jun: A school principal has been sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for indulging in sodomy with a minor student.
The court found accused Jayaprakash PD guilty of committing aggravated sexual assault and forced sodomy, and convicted him under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 377 of the IPC.
He has been sentenced to 20-year RI under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and another 10-year RI under Section 377 of the IPC. Both the sentences will run concurrently.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 2,000 under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Rs 1,000 under Section 377 of the IPC on him. The convict will have to serve six months and one month extra term in jail under each section if he does not pay the fines.
The sentences were pronounced by POCSO Court Special Judge Tage Halley here in Leparada district on 29 June.
While pronouncing the sentence in an open court, the judge observed that “the accused-convict, being a principal of the school, instead of extending every possible care and protection through his rightful and progressive education, including inevitable moral value to
the young learner (victim), has chosen to indulge with one of the most heinous crimes against the minor in person and society as a whole only to satiate his lust. Hence, it is the solemn responsibility of the court to send appropriate punitive message against the accused-convict under law, so that the collective consciousness of the society does not lose its faith in the judiciary.”
As per the court, Jayaprakash had been indulging in sodomy with the student for two months, and had been arrested under the two sections based on an FIR lodged by the father of the boy at the Daporijo police station.
Inspector Gejum Basar investigated the case and filed the chargesheet on 25, July, 2019 – 18 days after the FIR had been lodged. Later, the SP forwarded the chargesheet to the POSCO court in Basar on 14 August, 2019. The public persecutor was Karken Angu.
