Kannur (Kerala) | A court in Thalassery here on Friday found a school teacher, who was also a BJP activist, guilty of sexually assaulting a minor girl.

Fast Track Special Court Judge Jalarajani M T found Padmarajan K, alias Pappen Master (48) of Kadavathoor, Kannur, guilty.

He was convicted under IPC sections 376AB (rape of a girl under 12 years), 376(2)(f)(ii) (rape by a person in a position of trust or authority), 354A (sexual harassment), and under sections 5(f) (penetrative sexual assault on a child), 5(l) (penetrative sexual assault on a child more than once), and 5(m) (penetrative sexual assault on a child below 12 years) of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The court will hear on the sentence from the prosecution and defence lawyers on Saturday.

Padmarajan was shifted to jail after the verdict.

A total of 42 witnesses and 91 documents were examined during the trial, which began in February last year, police said.

According to the prosecution, the 10-year-old student was sexually assaulted by Padmarajan, a teacher at Palathayi school here, between January and February 2020.

Panoor police registered a case on March 17, 2020, and arrested him on April 15. The case was later handed over to the Crime Branch.

However, following concerns raised by the victim's family, a new investigation team led by Additional Director General of Police E J Jayaraj conducted a fresh probe and filed a chargesheet, officials said.