Kozhikode (Kerala) | A Kerala court on Saturday sentenced a 29-year-old man to imprisonment for the remainder of his life for kidnapping and brutally sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy back in 2022.
Nadapuram Fast Track Special Court Judge Devan K Menon punished the convict with term sentences totalling 16 years for various offences under the IPC and life imprisonment under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, special public prosecutor (SPP) Manoj Aroor said.
The prosecutor said that the court sent the convict to prison for the remainder of his life and also imposed a fine of Rs 2.1 lakh on him.
If the amount is realised from the convict, it should be paid to the victim, the court said and also directed the Kozhikode District Legal Services Authority to provide him additional compensation for the mental trauma undergone by him, the SPP said.
The incident occurred on July 17, 2022 when the then 14-year-old boy was kidnapped from near his home in a Haryana registration vehicle and subjected him to brutal sexual assault and unnatural sex at a tourist home in Koduvally here after restraining him, the prosecutor said.
The convict, Afsal, was the first accused in the case and the trial has been completed only against him, the SPP said.
The second accused -- Mubasheer alias Moochy -- was absconding for a long time and though he was arrested subsequently, his trial has not yet been completed, the prosecutor said.
Even Afsal went into hiding several times during the trial, leading to delaying the proceedings, he said.
While in hiding, he also robbed a man of his phone and money by barging into his hotel in Kozhikode and is facing criminal proceedings in connection with that, the SPP said.
When he was presented before the court after being arrested in the robbery case, Afsal again tried to escape and was caught with the help of the locals, the prosecutor said.
