In a first in Telangana, man gets 20 years of jail for rape on four-year-old's testimony

HYDERABAD:  In a first in Telangana, the testimony of a four-year-old rape victim led to the conviction of the accused. The special court for POCSO cases at Hyderabad completed the trial in 137 days from the date of filing the FIR.

The case was reported at Banjara Hills in November 2020. The court found the accused, Enaganti Chennaiah (48), a lorry driver, guilty of the offence and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for 20 years. The victim’s family had migrated to the city from Odisha a decade ago.

The court, which imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Chennaiah, to be paid to the victim as compensation, also directed the State's Legal Services Authority to pay Rs 50,000 to the victim. Chennaiah was in prison from the time of his arrest till the trial ended. Though he had moved the court for bail several times, police opposed bail every time, due to which his pleas were dismissed. 

Convicted lorry driver was victim's neighbour

The victim’s family and the accused were neighbours. On December 11, 2020, when the victim’s mother returned home from work, the girl was not at home. Later, the girl came home and told her mother that their neighbour, Chennaiah, had taken her to his home.

After some time, the girl complained of pain in her private parts. Her mother examined her, and on the suspicion that her daughter had been sexually assaulted, lodged a complaint at Banjara Hills police station.

A case under Sections 376 (A)(B) and 363 of the IPC, and under the POCSO Act was registered and Chennaiah was arrested and sent to judicial remand. During the trial, the court examined the victim, her parents, the panch witnesses and the medical reports produced by the prosecution. Relying on these, Judge Sunitha Kunchala sentenced Chennaiah.