21-Year-Old Youth Arrested under POCSO Act for Assaulting a Minor Girl 

Kollam: A 21-year-old youth named Sachu, a resident of Kovoor, Kollam, was arrested by local police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He is accused of repeatedly assaulting a minor girl over the span of a year, targeting times when the child was left alone at home. The long-running abuse came to light when a relative of the child caught the accused during a recent attempt. While Sachu has been taken into custody, a second accused individual from the same locality, identified as Alan, has fled the scene and remains at large. 

Legal significance 

This case invokes the severe penal measures of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012 and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (BNS). The charges automatically qualify as Aggravated Penetrative Sexual Assault under Section 5 or Aggravated Sexual Assault under Section 9 of the POCSO Act. The statutory framework treats offenses against children under the age of twelve with ultimate gravity, carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years of rigorous imprisonment that can extend to life imprisonment or even the death penalty. 

Additionally, the active implication of a secondary, absconding suspect brings the legal principles of joint criminal liability into play. Provisions regarding common intention and abetment under the BNS will be applied alongside the primary POCSO charges. This ensures that both the individual in custody and the fleeing co-perpetrator will face equal accountability under the law for the continuous nature of the abuse once the police execute the remaining arrest. 

📰 Source: Media One (English)