The child-friendly court, a special court for the trial of offences under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, set up in April this year awarded convictions in 18 POCSO cases.
“Among the 18 cases, four were awarded life sentences for their extreme act of abuse,” Additional Commissioner of Police (Crimes and SIT) Shikha Goel said.
Minor raped
An autorickshaw driver in his early 50s was sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a six-year-old girl from Bownepally.
The victim, along with her mother, a vegetable vendor, had boarded the autorickshaw where the accused, P. Narsingh alias Auto Narsingh, raped her while the victim’s mother was busy collecting money.
The incident came to light only when the mother found blood stains on the former’s clothes while washing them. On being questioned, the minor narrated the incident to her mother.
Crime by father
In another case, a man who raped his 13-year-old daughter was sentenced to life imprisonment by a child-friendly court at Bharosa centre.
Ms. Goel said the man was caught red-handed by their tenant next door while abusing his child in the verandah of their house.
The mother and grandmother of the victim approached the police and lodged a complaint against the accused, following which a case was registered and he was taken into custody.
These are some of the instances in which the conviction was awarded by the child-friendly court.
The state-of-art court, which was inaugurated in April has all the required facilities in order to make the child feel comfortable and at ease to speak to the judge and advocates.
Apart from the innovative and child-friendly court hall, the court comprises special room for the victims with video conference facility and a separate room for the accused. “In this court, the victim and the accused will not come in contact. However, the accused can see the victim through a one-way mirror in the court room,” Ms Goel said, adding that the main objective of the court was to speedy trial and disposal of the child sexual abuse cases.