Hyderabad: Auto-driver gets seven-year RI for sexual abuse

A 35-year-old auto-driver was sentenced to seven-year Rigorous Imprisonment (RI) for the sexual abuse of a seven-year-old girl. The first additional metropolitan sessions court convicted the accused and awarded the punishment along with a fine of Rs 1000.

Apart from the punishment, the court also sentenced five-year jail-term under section 354 of IPC and Rs 1,000 fine Both the punishment will be imposed concurrently.

The accused, a resident of Muradnagar picked up the girl and other students from a school in Mehdipatnam on September 29, 2018. The girl's mother called up the driver and asked to drop her daughter at AC guards where she was waiting.

The girl got down from the auto and began crying after seeing her mother. When the woman inquired, the girl shared her ordeal that the auto driver sexually abused her when she was alone in the vehicle.

Based on the complaint lodged by the girl's mother, the Nampally police registered cases under section 354 of IPC, section 9 (r/w 10) of POCSO act.