Court convicts auto driver for raping minor girl

Mangalore: Session special court for rape cases has held an auto rickshaw driver guilty of raping a minor girl. Harish Gowda (26)  is the accused who had raped a 14 year old minor girl near Kalanja in Belthangadi taluk on September 13, 2012.

The girl in the question was staying with her maternal uncle. She was a VIII standard student and was returning to her house on September 13, 2012 after receiving a bicycle under the government scheme from the school.  Gowda was taking one Dinesh from Kokkada to Arasinamakki on his auto   and stopped his autorickshaw on seeing the girl on the way.

He offered to drop her to her house. But instead he took the girl to Ennegudde and raped her inside the reserve forest. The accused also threatened to kill her and rape her sister, too, if she told anything about the incident to others. He then dropped her near her house and sped away. When her parents learnt about the incident they immediately filed a complaint in Uppinangady police station.

Forensic reports and examination of witnesses, especially Dinesh, helped the court to arrive at a conclusion to convict the accused. Judge SH Pushpanjali Devi delivered the verdict after examining 18 witnesses in the case.The quantum of punishment will be pronounced after the hearing of defence counsel on October 20.