Daijiworld Media Network - Udupi (SP)

Udupi, Jun 9: Principal district and sessions judge, T Venkatesh Naik, who also is the district judge of special court for cases under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), has rejected bail applications of the accused in two POCSO cases.

The first one relates to sexual atrocity on a minor girl on January 19 this year by her neighbour, Anand (20). In this case, the case under POCSO had been filed in Kavoor police station, Mangaluru. In this case, the accused had escorted the 17-year-old girl living in his neighbourhood, for a religious programme arranged at the house of his elder sister at Perampalli within Manipal police station limits. On January 19, when no one was a round, he had developed physical relationship with the girl, resulting in her pregnancy. This case filed by the girl's parents was later transferred to Manipal station from Kavoor police station.

In this case, the girl expressed her readiness to marry the accused. But the judge rejected the bail application on the ground that the girl was minor when she was raped.

In the other case, Sridhar Naik (24) had cajoled the minor daughter of his aunt to agree to have sex with him during May 2016. This had happened in Kudoor in Kundapur taluk. In this case, investigation had been completed and charge sheet had been filed.

The advocate argued for bail for the accused, duly telling the court that the two  are relatives and will marry in future. But the judge quashed the bail application. In both the cases, district special public prosecutor for POCSO cases, Vijaya Vasu Poojary had represented the prosecution.