The Chirang district judicial court in Assam on Monday sentenced a teacher to five years in jail and also slapped him with a fine under the POCSO act for outraging the modesty of a seventh-standard female student.
The minor girl, a resident of Basugaon town in the Chirang district was allegedly molested by the accused, an assistant teacher at the school, inside the classroom.
Hearing the matter today, Justice C Chaturvedi of the Chirang district judicial court convicted the accused, identified as Dipak Kumar Bhagat under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The court awarded the convict a five-year rigorous jail term and imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on him. Moreover, the court also held that failing to pay the fine would add an additional two-month jail term to the original sentence.
"A1 is convicted for the offence under Section 9(f) R/W Section 10 of the POCSO Act and is sentenced to undergo rigorous imprisonment for 5 (Five) years with fine of Rs. 20,000/- in default to suffer further imprisonment for 2 (Two) months," the court order read.
"The period already undergone during the time of investigation and trial shall be set off from the sentenced period as per provision of Section 428 CrPC. Jail warrant be issued accordingly," it added.
It may be noted that the matter came to light after a group of parents entered a classroom and physically assaulted the accused teacher after they learnt of his attempts to molest the minor student. After the news of this incident spread, there was a strong reaction from the entire state.
