Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Court Judge Dr S Rajini, on Wednesday, sentenced former Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader Vinod Kumar Jain to life imprisonment for abetting the suicide of a minor girl. Further, the court imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on the convicted leader. The accused was sentenced within 15 months after the incident took place.
Unable to bear the alleged sexual harassment by her neighbour Vinod Kumar Jain, the 14-year-old girl committed suicide by jumping off the fifth floor of her apartment building in the Bhavanipuram area on January 29, 2022. The victim was a student at a corporate school at Labbipet. Before taking the extreme step, the minor girl wrote a suicide note in which she had accused Vinod Kumar Jain of sexual harassment.
“Vinod Jain was sexually harassing me and was behaving indecently for the last couple of months,” the girl said. The suicide of the minor girl had sent shockwaves across the State. Following widespread protests, the Bhavanipuram police arrested Vinod Jain and he was booked under the Cr no 50/2022 U/S 305,354,509, 506 IPC & Section 8 r/w 10 of the POCSO Act.
A speedy trial was held in the POCSO Court (Speed Trail Court) at the initiative of City Police Commissioner Kanti Rana Tata. As the accused was found guilty after investigation, on April 26, Vijayawada POCSO Court Judge Dr S Rajini Garu sentenced accused Vinod Kumar Jain (50) to life imprisonment and fined Rs 3,00,000. He was ordered to pay Rs 2,40,000 from the fine to the family of the victim.
Special Public Prosecutors G Nagi Reddy, G Narayana Reddy, CMS Inspector, Bhavanipuram SI L Prasad and CMS examined 20 witnesses under staff supervision, said the city police.
