Bapatla: The Special POCSO Court in Ongole, presided over by Judge K Shailaja, sentenced 65-year-old Tirumalasetti Venkateswarlu to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10000 for repeatedly raping a minor girl. The court also ordered the state government to pay Rs 6 lakh as compensation to the victim.

According to the Bapatla district police, the incident occurred in November 2023 in Vetapalem of the Bapatla district. The accused lured a 13-year-old 9th Class student from a local government girls’ high school with false promises. The victim, who lived with her parents near the accused’s residence, was raped multiple times, at a cement stone manufacturing site operated by the accused. The perpetrator threatened to kill her if she told anyone about the abuse.

The crime came to light when the victim complained of stomach pain. After confirmation that the girl is pregnant, at GGH Guntur, the victim’s mother filed a complaint on November 17, 2023.

The then Vetapalem Police Station SI G Suresh registered the case under sections 376(2)(i)(n) and 506 of the IPC, along with sections 6 r/w 5(l) and 6 r/w 5(j)(ii) of the POCSO Act. The then-Chirala DSP S Prasad Rao conducted a thorough probe, arrested the accused, and filed the charge sheet in the court. During the trial at the Special Ongole POCSO Court, the prosecution team, led by Public Prosecutor G Srinivasarao, successfully proved the charges against the accused with substantial evidence.

Bapatla district SP Tushar Doodi praised the coordinated efforts of the investigation team, including Chirala DSP MD Moin, Chirala Rural CI P Seshagiri Rao, Vetapalem SI Venkateswarlu, Court Liaising ASI Swami, and Court Constable Karimullah.

He highlighted their role in ensuring witnesses testified fearlessly and appeared in court at the appropriate times.