Mangaluru: An Additional Sessions Court in Mangaluru and a second fast track Special POCSO Court have sentenced a man to 11 years in jail and ill imposed a fine of Rs. 50,000 for raping a minor girl working in a cloth store.
The convict has been identified as Abdul Latif (41), a resident of Kandavar in Bajpe in the Taluk. He ran a clothing store called Fatima Dress Collection at Kaikamba. In 2017, he raped the girl, who was working in his cloth shop, by giving her a juice mixed with intoxicants. He had also threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it. The girl informed the family about the incident, following which the girl and her parents approached the Bajpe Police Station and a case was registered on the basis of a complaint.
The accused in the case had been absconding for nearly two years without being caught by the police. However, the police later arrested the accused from Gadag District. The then police inspector of Bajpe Police Station, K. R. Naik had submitted a chargesheet to the Court.
After hearing the arguments, Judge Radhakrishna pronounced the accused Abdul Latheef guilty.
