Mangaluru
The Additional District and Sessions Judge, FTSC-1 (POCSO) Dakshina Kannada, ordered a survivor in a POCSO case to return the compensation amount paid to her by the Social Welfare Department.
Special Public Prosecutor Jyothi Pramod Nayak said the amount of Rs 3.75 lakh has been recovered and credited to the state treasury on the direction of the court after the survivor/complainant turned hostile. This serves as a lesson for all victims, and it is important to not turn hostile, she said.
A POCSO case was registered at the Panambur Police station last year and ACP City North Subdivision had conducted an investigation. Signatures of 39 witnesses were collected when submitting the charge sheet before the court. The court hearing under Judge Manjula Itty began on October 5, 2023.
During the hearing, the survivor and her family members had turned hostile. Once an FIR was registered, the social welfare department sanctioned Rs 1.25 lakh from the government and once the chargesheet was registered Rs 2.50 lakh was sanctioned.
As the victim was a minor, the money was credited to the account of her aunt.
An order to return the amount was made by the Special Public Prosecutor before the Court and the Court directed to recover the amount. Accordingly, Rs 3.75 lakh was recovered from the account of the complainant’s aunt and was credited to the joint account of the Deputy Commissioner and Deputy Director of Social Welfare Department, said Nayak.
