25-yr jail term for convict in 16-month-old baby rape; Sajjanar honours investigator

HYDERABAD: A Kothagudem court has convicted a 22-year-old man of raping a 16-month-old baby and sentenced him to 25 years of rigorous imprisonment. The court also slapped a Rs 10,000 fine on the convict and said that the jail term would be extended by six more months if he failed to pay the requisite fine.

According to the prosecution, 22-year-old Ajmira Sai Kiran, hailing from Dummugudem mandal of Bhadradri-Kottagudem district, committed the heinous crime on a 16-month-old baby girl after she was left behind by her parents at a relative's house in 2018. A case was registered at the Dummugudem police station under the stringent POCSO Act and the trial went on for the last four years.

The accused was convicted on Friday, thanks to the efforts of then Bhadrachalam ASP and current TSRTC Joint Director Dr Sangram Singh Ji Patil, who investigated the case and produced solid evidence under the POCSO Act which led to the eventual conviction of the accused.

TSRTC Managing Director VC Sajjanar congratulated Sangram Singh Ji Patil for his efforts to take the case to a logical conclusion. The MD felicitated the TSRTC JD at Bus Bhavan in Hyderabad on Thursday. He described the verdict as historic as the accused in the Dummagudem case was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Stating that children were the future of the society, VC Sajjanar said that it was the responsibility of everyone in the society to take care of them and remove the scope for heinous crimes against them. He also stressed on the need for creating an ideal and safe environment for children to grow up freely.

Sajjanar also felt that parents should educate their children about ‘good and bad touch’ and urged the police officers to ensure that the laws envisioning child protection were fully enforced and the culprits were punished.

TSRTC Joint Director Dr Sangram Singh Ji Patil expressed his happiness over the conviction of the accused and his sentencing in jail for 25 years. He said that he was happy to get a historic verdict in his first sensational case and congratulated Inspector Balakrishna, Head Constables MD Muzamil, Rajendra Kumar, Harigopal, Constable Hanumantha Rao and Additional Public Prosecutor PVD Lakshmi for their cooperation in the investigation of this case.

TSRTC Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dr V Ravinder, Executive Directors Munishekhar and Vinod Kumar and other corporation officials were present on the occasion.