A Special POCSO Court in Manipur’s Senapati district has sentenced a 48-year-old man to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life after convicting him of sexually assaulting his seven-year-old daughter.The judgment was delivered on May 12 by Special Judge (POCSO) Lamkholal Kipgen, nearly four years after the case first came to light in 2022. The convict, identified as K. Besii of Kalinamai village under Mao police station, was found guilty under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which deals with aggravated penetrative sexual assault.According to the court order, the accused was arrested on March 16, 2022, following a complaint lodged by Child Line Senapati. After completion of the investigation, police filed the charge sheet and the trial formally began on February 25 this year. The court pronounced the conviction on May 7 and announced the sentence five days later.
While delivering the order, the court described the crime as “heinous and barbaric” and observed that the survivor was only around seven years old at the time of the offence. The prosecution argued that the accused had grossly violated the trust and responsibility expected of a parent and caused deep physical and emotional trauma to the child.The court referred to several Supreme Court judgments dealing with incestuous sexual violence and stated that such offences destroy the basic foundation of trust within a family. However, the court also noted that the case did not fall under the “rarest of rare” category required for awarding the death penalty. Apart from the life sentence, the court imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict. In case of non-payment, he will have to undergo an additional six months of imprisonment.
The court also directed the Manipur government to provide compensation of Rs 7 lakh to the survivor under provisions of the POCSO Act and Section 357A of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The order noted that the child would require long-term care and support because of the psychological and emotional impact of the assault. According to the court, the child is currently staying at a shelter home in Senapati district. It directed that 80 per cent of the compensation amount be kept in a fixed deposit until she reaches adulthood, while the remaining amount may be used for urgent educational or medical expenses with permission from the District Legal Services Authority.
