Mangaluru: The additional district and sessions court, FTSC-II, on Wednesday, has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of Rs 55,000 on him.Afreed alias Appi,20, a resident of Kelaginakere, Addoor, Gurupura, was found guilty in a case of sexually assaulting a minor girl whom he had befriended through Instagram, and threatening her life.The 17-year-old survivour had come in contact with the convict, a car driver, through Instagram. He allegedly told her that he loved her and promised to marry her. On May 27, 2024, after learning that she was alone at home, Afreed came to her house and sexually assualted her. Later, he allegedly told her that he had recorded a video and threatened to make it viral if she did not agree to have physical relations with him in future. He also threatened to kill her if she disclosed the matter to anyone. Thereafter, he allegedly sexually assaulted her several times. Later, the girl’s family vacated the house on June 1, 2025, and shifted to a rented house in a different taluk. On Aug 6, 2025, Afreed went to her house and allegedly sexually assualted her. On Oct 3, he called her, quarrelled with her, and told her that he would not marry her, before disconnecting the call. Upset over this, the girl attempted suicide by consuming phenyl at home. She fell seriously ill and was admitted to hospital for treatment, Special public prosecutor Sahana Devi Boloor argued on behalf of the state.A case was registered and inspector Ravi BS investigated the case and filed a chargesheet against the accused before the court. After conducting the trial, judge Maanu sentenced the accused to to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for the offence committed under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 376(2)(n) of the IPC. Under IPC Section 506 for criminal intimidation, the court sentenced him to three months of simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000. The judge directed that the fine amount of Rs 55,000 be paid to the survivor as compensation. In addition, the court directed the District Legal Services Authority to pay a compensation of Rs 5.5 lakh as compensation to her.
