Painter gets rigorous imprisonment for trying to sexually assault minor girl near Puducherry

PUDUCHERRY: A special court handling cases booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act, 2012, has sentenced a 38-year-old painter to two and a half years of rigorous imprisonment for attempting to sexually assault a 13-year-old girl in a village on the outskirts of Puducherry town two years ago.

Special judge V Sofana Devi also sentenced him to undergo two and half years of rigorous imprisonment for outraging the girl’s modesty, one-year rigorous imprisonment for confining her and one-month simple imprisonment for restraining her. All the terms will run concurrently.

The judge awarded Rs 1 lakh compensation to the survivor.

She slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on the painter identified as P Karthik alias Peraman.

Special public prosecutor S Patcheappan said Karthik followed the minor girl with an intention to sexually assault her when she was going to a casuarina grove to relieve herself. He overpowered her, tied her to a casuarina tree and attempted to sexually assault her. The girl screamed and got the attention of the villagers, who came to her rescue. The man fled the spot.

The girl's mother lodged a complaint with the Thirukkanur police who booked the painter under Section 8 (punishment for sexual assault) read with Section 18 (punishment for attempt to commit an offence) of the Pocso Act and sections 341 (punishment for wrongful restraint), 342 (punishment for wrongful confinement) and 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty) of the Indian Penal Code and arrested the painter.