Hyderabad man gets 20 years jail for kidnapping, assaulting minor

The case began on February 10, 2020, when a complaint was filed at Pahadishareef Police Station stating that the minor girl had gone missing from her home the previous night.

Hyderabad: A fast-track special court on Monday, June 29, sentenced a 25-year-old labourer to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and repeatedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl, in a case that took more than six years to wind its way through the system after it first came to light as a missing person complaint.

The Fast Track Special Court for Rape and POCSO Cases at LB Nagar, Ranga Reddy district, on Monday convicted Saadangi Venkatesh alias Sadula Venkatesh, a resident of Devender Nagar Colony, Raviryala village, Maheshwaram mandal. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 and directed him to pay Rs 1 lakh as compensation to the victim.

The case began on February 10, 2020, when a complaint was filed at Pahadishareef Police Station stating that the minor girl had gone missing from her home the previous night. The family had been unable to trace her despite extensive searches and named a neighbour as a suspect. 

The matter was initially registered as a missing person case.

Case altered after victim traced

Investigators eventually located the girl, and the subsequent inquiry established that the accused had kidnapped and sexually assaulted her on multiple occasions. The case was accordingly altered to charges under Sections 366 and 376(2)(i)(n) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 5(l) read with Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and a charge sheet was filed before the court.

After examining oral, documentary and scientific evidence placed on record by the prosecution, the court returned a guilty verdict and imposed the sentence.