60-Year-Old Tuition Teacher in Telangana Sentenced to 10 Years for Sexual Assault of Minor Student

The victim's mother filed a police report against the teacher at Rajendranagar Police Station. (Representational)

Hyderabad:

A 60-year-old tuition teacher has been sentenced to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment by a special court in Telangana's Ranga Reddy district on Friday. The court also imposed a Rs 5,000 fine on the teacher for raping a 12-year-old student who attended his classes.

The victim, who resides in Hyderguda in Rajendranagar Mandal, was sexually assaulted by the teacher in December 2017.

The victim's mother reported that her daughter, a 7th grade student at the time, had been taking tuition classes at the home of Dronamraju Subramanyeshwar Rao, who lived in the same apartment complex as their family.

On December 3, 2017, while the parents were away in Chennai, the victim called her mother late at night and revealed that Rao had dismissed other students after class and subsequently sexually assaulted her in his room.

The mother returned home the following morning and immediately registered a complaint at the Rajendranagar Police Station.

Following the complaint, authorities registered a case under Section 376(2)(f)(i) of the IPC, Section 5(o) read with Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012, and Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act. Inspector V Umender initially led the investigation, which was later continued by Assistant Commissioner of Police K. Ashok Chakravarthy, who gathered essential evidence and submitted the charge sheet.

After thorough examination, Judge P. Anjaneyulu of the special court delivered the verdict, sentencing the accused to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment, imposing a Rs 5,000 fine, and awarding Rs 3 lakh compensation to the victim.

In an official press release, police stated that the conviction demonstrated a strong position taken by the judiciary and law enforcement against crimes targeting children, reinforcing the importance of prompt and effective justice under the POCSO Act.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner V C Sajjanar issued a warning against the exploitation of minors.