A 24-year-old youth, Arjun, who was acquitted in a case of rape and murder of a six-year-old girl at Vandiperiyar in Idukki, appeared before the Special Fast Track Court at Kattappana on Monday. The youth appeared before the court following a recent direction by the Kerala High Court. The direction was to appear before a special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (Pocso) court here within 10 days and execute a bond of ₹50,000 with two solvent sureties for the same amount. After executing the bond before the court, the accused was released on bail with conditions ensuring that he does not leave the State.
A six-year-old girl was found hanging inside her house in a cluster home on June 30, 2021. The initial report indicated that the girl accidentally got entangled in a rope that was inside a room in the house. However, the autopsy report said she was subjected to severe sexual abuse for long. The Vandiperiyar police later arrested Arjun, a DYFI activist who lived in the same estate lane, in connection with her death.
The youth was acquitted by a special fast-track court at Kattappana on December 14, 2023. In her judgement, fast-track court judge V. Manju had said that the prosecution had failed to prove the case. The court further observed that the police had failed to produce sufficient evidence to incriminate the accused in the case.
Published – December 23, 2024 08:37 pm IST