Latest news with #ProtectionOfChildrenfromSexualOffencesAct
The Hindu
01-06-2025
- The Hindu
Chikkamagaluru police hold meetings with representatives of educational institutions on safety of schoolchildren
Chikkamagaluru district police on Saturday held meetings with representatives of schools and colleges and suggested measures to ensure the safety of children. The suggestions included hiring experienced drivers to operate school vans and ensure they follow traffic rules strictly. The police officers held meetings at every police station in their jurisdiction with representatives from educational institutions. The institutions were told to regularly check the fitness of vehicles used to pick up and drop students. The schools should ensure that drivers are not in an inebriated state while on duty. The police told the institutes to depute their staff to guide children to cross the road at the time when parents arrive to drop off and pick up their children, to ensure minimum congestion on the road near the institutes. The representatives of the institutes were told to make arrangements to park the vehicles of parents. The school owners should install CCTV cameras covering the common area. They were told to inform the police if any business establishment nearby was found selling banned items. They were told to conduct programmes to spread awareness among students on issues related to cyber laws, traffic rules, use of narcotic drugs, use of social media, and the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act. The police asked the institutes to put up boards informing children about emergency helplines 112, the control room 94808-005100 or 8277991000, besides the contact number of the nearest police station.
Mint
15-05-2025
- Politics
- Mint
Supreme Court asks Centre to establish POCSO courts on ‘top priority basis'
The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the central government to establish POCSO courts on "top priority basis" to exclusively deal with cases of sexual offences against children. Due to the inadequacy of the number of exclusive courts for the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act cases, the timelines mandated under the law for completion of trials weren't adhered to, said the apex court. "It is therefore expected that the union of India and the state governments shall take appropriate steps to sensitise the officials associated with the investigation of POCSO cases, and also to create dedicated courts to try POCSO cases on top priority basis," said a Supreme Court bench of Justices Bela M. Trivedi and PB Varale. The apex court was hearing a petition underlining the "alarming rise in the number of reported child rape incidents" in a suo motu case. The court also directed filing of chargesheets within the mandatory period stipulated in law besides completing trials within the prescribed time frame. The SC noted that while majority states, with the funding from the Centre, complied with the directions for setting up exclusive courts for POCSO cases, in Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Maharashtra, and a few other states, more POCSO courts were required given the pendency of such cases. Earlier, the top court had directed senior advocate and amicus curiae V. Giri and senior advocate Uttara Babbar to submit state-wise details on the status of POCSO courts. It asked states to set up two designated courts in districts where the number of pending cases of child abuse under the POCSO Act was more than 300. A court in Thane has sentenced a 32-year-old man to ten years' rigorous imprisonment for the rape and sexual assault of a then 11-year-old girl in the district in 2013. Dinesh S. Deshmukh, special judge for Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act cases, delivered the verdict on Wednesday. Bablu alias Mohammad Mustapha Imtiyaz Shaikh who was 20 years old at the time of the crime was found guilty under relevant sections of the POCSO Act and for rape under the Indian Penal Code.
The Hindu
15-05-2025
- The Hindu
More than decade after rape of minor, man sentenced to 10 years in jail
A court here has sentenced a 32-year-old man to ten years' rigorous imprisonment for the rape and sexual assault of a then 11-year-old girl in the district in 2013. Dinesh S. Deshmukh, special judge for Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act cases, delivered the verdict on Wednesday (May 14, 2025). Bablu alias Mohammad Mustapha Imtiyaz Shaikh who was 20 years old at the time of the crime was found guilty under relevant sections of the POCSO Act and for rape under the Indian Penal Code. The court also imposed a fine of ₹10,000 on him. Special Public Prosecutor Sandhya Mhatre said the survivor lived in the same locality in Mumbra near here as the accused. On the evening of July 6, 2013, when the girl was returning home from school, Shaikh accosted her and compelled her to go with him, threatening to beat up her family members otherwise, said Advocate Mhatre. He took her to his house and raped her. After the girl narrated the incident to her mother, a complaint was registered with Mumbra Police. "We examined six witnesses, including the survivor and her mother, to prove the case," the prosecutor told reporters. The defence argued that the accused was falsely implicated because the girl's mother wanted a contract which the accused had obtained, for her son-in-law. However, the court rejected this argument, Advocate Mhatre said. The court found the girl's deposition reliable, noting that a child would not lie. The court also accepted the medical reports while convicting the accused, the prosecutor added. Judge Deshmukh directed that the fine amount be given to the survivor as compensation. The case has also been referred to the District Legal Services Authority for the payment of additional compensation.
