Kerala POCSO court sentences man to 18 yrs in jail for abetting suicide of teen

Kochi: Kerala’s Special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court on Saturday sentenced a 23-year-old man to a cumulative of 18 years in prison for threatening to kill a teenage girl, which led to her suicide in 2020.

The court sentenced the accused Sibi to varying jail terms under the Indian Penal Code and also imposed a fine of Rs 1.20 lakh on him.

However, the convict will serve only 10 years in jail, the highest among the sentences given to him, as the court has ordered that the prison term for various charges shall run concurrently, the prosecutor said.

Sibi, a resident of Ernakulam, was sentenced under the charges including abetment to commit suicide, publicly threatening to kill the girl, and abusing and assaulting her.

According to the prosecution, in March 2020, the convict attempted to physically restrain the 17-year-old girl while she was on her way to school and threatened to kill her.

The girl, on the same evening, fearing the death threats from the culprit, set herself ablaze and passed away at a private hospital here a few days later, prosecution lawyers said.

Special public prosecutor P A Bindhu and advocate Sarun Mangara, who appeared for the prosecution, said the court considered the dying declaration of the victim and a witness statement given by her friend and gave out the conviction and the sentencing.

The court observed that the convict does not deserve any mercy, they said.

With inputs from PTI