The culprit got the number of the victim from her maid and began chatting with her online.
| Photo Credit: Illustration by Satheesh Vellinezhi
Udupi Additional District and Sessions Judge, Fast Track Sessions Court, Srinivasa Suvarna, sentenced 26-year-old Sachin Poojary to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a PU student and extorting money and jewellery from her by threatening to release the latter’s obscene photos on social media.
On August 3, the judge sentenced Sachin to 20 years’ imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹20,000 for the offence that is punishable under Section 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act. He was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment and fined ₹10,000 for the offence punishable under Section 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). He was sentenced to five years of imprisonment and fined ₹5,000 for the offence punishable under Section 366A of the IPC, and one year of imprisonment and fine of ₹5,000 for the offences punishable under Sections 384 and 506 of the IPC. All the sentences will run concurrently, the judge said.
According to the chargesheet, Sachin Poojary is a resident of Kota. He got the number of the victim from the maid in her house. He began chatting with the victim online and secured her pictures. He extorted money and jewellery on several occasions by threatening to post the pictures on social media. In September and November 2020, he took her to a secluded place and sexually assaulted her three times. When family members noticed that jewellery was missing from the home, the victim told them about the sexual assault and extortion.
The Udupi women police arrested Sachin and filed the chargesheet.
The judge said ₹30,000 from the total fine amount of ₹40,000 will be paid as compensation to the victim. The judge further ordered compensation of ₹1 lakh from the State Government to the victim.
