Mangaluru
A POCSO court in Mangaluru has sentenced a 20-year-old car driver to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a ₹50,000 fine for sexually assaulting a minor girl after befriending her through Instagram. The accused, Afridi alias Afri from Gurupura, was found guilty of luring the 17-year-old victim with promises of marriage, repeatedly assaulting her, and threatening to leak videos. The court also awarded ₹6 lakh compensation to the survivor. The accused was convicted under IPC Section 376(2)(n), POCSO Act Section 6, and IPC Section 506 for criminal intimidation. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently. The investigation was conducted by Belthangady police, and the prosecution was represented by special government prosecutor Sahanadevi Bolur.