By Fida Fathima
The Thalassery POCSO Special Court Judge M.T. Jalajarani on Friday delivered the verdict in the Palathayi child sexual abuse case, convicting BJP leader and school teacher K. Padmarajan , also known as Pappan Master, and sentencing him to life imprisonment till his natural death.
The convict, K. Padmarajan, a prominent local BJP leader, received the sentence a day after the court found him guilty in the 2020 POCSO case, with Judge M.T. Jalaja Rani imposing a fine of ₹1 lakh and stipulating an additional year of imprisonment if it is not paid.
In addition, under two separate sections of the POCSO Act, he must serve 40 years of imprisonment and pay another ₹1 lakh, bringing the total fine to ₹2 lakh.
The punishment includes two separate 20-year rigorous imprisonment terms, after which the convict must undergo imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life.
The convict, K. Padmarajan, a 49-year-old former BJP Thrippangottur panchayat president, was also the district leader of a Sangh Parivar teachers’ organisation.
The Public Prosecutor stated that compensation will be provided to the victim as per the directions of the District Legal Services Authority, calling it a very “appropriate and welcome decision.”
The survivor, a 10-year-old student, was studying at the school where the accused, Padmarajan, worked as a teacher. The complaint alleged that he sexually assaulted the child multiple times, including inside the school toilet.
This story was originally published in maktoobmedia.com. Read the full story here.
