Suspended TDP leader gets lifer for girl's suicide

Vijayawada, April 27: A special court here has sentenced to life imprisonment a suspended Telugu Desam Party (TDP) leader for sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl and abetment of suicide.

The POCSO Special Court awarded the sentence to 50-year-old Vinod Kumar Jain on Wednesday.

Special Court Judge S. Rajini also imposed a fine of Rs 3 lakh on him. Out of this fine amount, Rs 2.4 lakh will be paid to the girl's family.

Unable to bear the sexual harassment, the girl had committed suicide by jumping from a five-storey apartment building on January 29, 2022.

In a suicide note, which police later recovered from her bedroom, the student of class 9 wrote that she was ending her life due to sexual harassment by Vinod Jain, who resides in the same building.

On a complaint by the girl's grandfather, police had registered a case against Vinod Jain under sections 305, 306, 354, 509 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 8 and of Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and arrested him.

Following the incident, TDP suspended Vinod Jain, who had contested in Vijayawada municipal elections on the party ticket.

Police investigation into the case had revealed that the accused had been sexually harassing the girl by inappropriately touching her for two months. The girl wrote in her suicide note that Vinod Jain was resorting to harassment everyday in the apartment premises.

The victim wrote that she did not reveal this to her parents due to fear and shame.

The accused had remained in jail since February 2022. Police said 20 witnesses recorded their statements in the case and based on the evidence and after examining the witnesses, the court found him guilty.

Vinod Jain has been sentenced for life under IPC section 305 (abetment of suicide of child) and fined for Rs 1 lakh. The court also sentenced him for seven years and imposed fine of Rs 50,000 under POCSO section 9 (L) and 10, three years imprisonment and Rs 50,000 fine under section 12 of POCSO, five years imprisonment and Rs 50,000 fine under IPC section 354 and three years imprisonment and Rs 50,000 fine under IPC section 509.