Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Jan 15: The district and sessions court here has found two persons named as accused in a case of abducting a minor girl and marriying her illegally registered in Brahmavar police station. The quantum of their sentences was announced by the court on Thursday January 14.

Sudarshana Kirana (28) from Kunjalu in Aroor village in the district, who married the girl, and Gururaj Handa (26), a resident of Brahmavar, who helped Kirana in the task, have been found guilty and awarded with jail terms.

Kirana has been handed out jail sentence of three years for offences under sections 465, 471, and 9 of Indian Penal Code. Gururaj has been found guilty of offences under sections 465 and 471, and sentenced for two years. While Kirana has been imposed with a fine of Rs 3,000 Gururaj has been ordered to pay a fine of Rs 2,000. The total fine of Rs 5,000 so collected has been ordered to be paid to the girl in question.

The court also passed orders to impound Rs 20,000 seized from the possession of the second accused, and the money he had received from the main accused to create fake documents for the above deed.

Sudarshana Kirana had threatened the minor girl and kidnapped her on August 2, 2010. After obtaining certificate from the medical officer duly concealing real age and mentioning the girl's age wrongly therein, he had married her at the office of the sub-registrar here, duly keeping the fact about the girl being a minor a guarded secret. He had taken the girl to different places and had sexually assaulted her. Gururaj had helped him in procuring the fake documents required to register the wedding.

After a case was filed in Brahmavar police station against the accused, the accused were arrested. The then Brahmavar police inspector, G Krishnamurty, had conducted investigation and filed charge sheet.

The district and sessions judge here, Shivashankar B Amarannavar, who conducted hearing in the case, delivered he judgment on Thursday. Chief public prosecutor, T S Jithuri, had appeared on behalf of prosecution in the case.