Puducherry, August 11(BPNS)

Special judge for POCSO cases, Justice J Selvanadhan sentenced a 31-year-old tuition teacher on Wednesday for sexually abusing a minor girl in Puducherry for 10 years of Rigorous imprisonment.

The tuition teacher, Ranjith alias Ranjith Kumar of Shanmughapuram was sentenced to 10 years of Rigorous imprisonment for nine years for sexually abusing the 15-year-old girl. He is to undergo one year of Rigorous Imprisonment for criminally intimidating the girl.  All the terms will run concurrently.

Judge ordered a compensation of Rs 4 lakh to the minor girl.

Ranjith was taking tuition classes in computer applications and computer science after a degree in BCA which he had taken through online classes. The 15-year-old girl student who was in the tenth standard in a private school joined his tuition class and he befriended the girl and late sexually abused her. The prosecution argued that Ranjith had promised to marry the girl and was regularly exploiting her physically.

The girl narrated the incidents to her parents after Ranjith forced the girl to leave her parents and marry him. Parents who were shocked on receiving the news approached the child welfare committee who on conducting a medical check-up on the girl found that she was physically abused.

A formal complaint was lodged with the Mettupalayam police who booked him under sections 6 (punishment for aggravated penetrative sexual assault) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (Pocso) Act,2012 and sections 376( punishment for rape) and 506(1)( punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code and arrested Ranjith.