Karnataka

No convictions under POCSO Act in Bangalore since it came into force two years ago

Written by : TNM

The News Minute | August 25, 2014 | 10:12 am ISTSince the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences or POCSO Act came into force two years ago, there have been zero convictions in Bangalore, states a report by The New Indian Express.Between November 2012 and August 2014, 261 cases had been filed in the city under the POCSO Act, trials were held and verdicts were passed in 30 of them; however, all the cases ended in acquittals, adds the report.N M Bellakki, principal public prosecutor, told The New Indian Express that around 10 percent of the cases booked under the POCSO Act are authentic and the rest are cases of "consensual sex". Often girls under the age of 18 often are in relationships with men in their early twenties, and if they elope the girls' parents file a case against the men. Since the girl is a minor, police lodge a complaint against the men under offences of rape and kidnap. Many a times parents also ask the girl to not identify the culprits, in cases if the girl has got married after the incident and now has a settled family life, Bellakki said. Since those booked under the POCSO Act are not entitled to bail, those accused have to stay in jail till their trails are held. 

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