A special court pronounced its judgment in a 2013 case of a kidnapping and rape of a minor girl, here on Wednesday.
Special Judge of the Visakhapatnam Special Court, G. Sridevi, found the accused M. Dhanesh (30) guilty of rape, and sentenced him under Section 4 of the POCSO Act and Section 376 (2) of the IPC to rigorous imprisonment of 10 years and also slapped a fine of ₹25,000. The judge also found the accused guilty of kidnapping and convicted him under Section 363 of the IPC, and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment of five years, besides a fine of ₹10,000. Both sentences will run concurrently.
According to Special Public Prosecutor M. Venugopal Rao, Dhanesh would woo minor girls from affluent families and ask them for money and valuables. In this case, the victim was a minor girl and an Intermediate student hailing from the city. In 2013, the accused began stalking her and struck up an acquaintance online, claiming to be an MBA graduate who was working as a manager at a well-known bank.
In December 2013, the accused asked the girl to accompany him on a holiday and asked her to bring along gold jewellery. He then took her to various various hotels and lodges where he raped her. He also confiscated her gold jewellery which he later pawned off for money.
Mr. Venugopal Rao said that the prosecution filed a chargesheet with 24 witnesses which helped nail the accused’s guilt.
