A local court in Udaipur town under Gomati district has sentenced a private tutor, Adhir Chandra Das, to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping and blackmailing a minor student using objectionable video footage.
On Friday, Judge Ravi Dahiya of the Udaipur Special Judicial Court delivered this landmark verdict after convicting the accused under Section 6 of the POCSO Act and Section 376(2)(n) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The convict, Adhir Chandra Das, a resident of the Rajnagar area under Radhakishorepur police station, was a teacher at Sister Nivedita Higher Secondary School.
According to the details of the case, the minor student from Udaipur began taking private tuitions in Bengali and Education from the teacher in 2019. One day, while she was on her way to tuition, Das lured her to his residence in the Brahmabari area. He spiked her snacks with a sedative and forcibly raped her. He recorded the objectionable act on his mobile phone, which marked the beginning of severe blackmail.
Using the video as leverage, he repeatedly took her to isolated locations and forests, subjecting her to continuous physical abuse over a long period. Furthermore, he forcibly applied vermilion (sindoor) on the minor and threatened to murder her father and brother if the matter was disclosed.
Out of fear for her family's safety, the victim remained silent for a long time. However, in 2021, the victim and her family finally lodged a written complaint at the Radhakishorepur Women's police station. The investigating officer of the case, Sub-Inspector Ripita Bhattacharjee, efficiently conducted the probe, arrested the accused teacher, and submitted a chargesheet to the court.
During the trial, the court recorded the depositions of seven witnesses. Following extensive arguments from both the defense and prosecution, the court handed down the stringent sentence.
The Special POCSO Public Prosecutor, Paltu Das, stated that the prosecution had demanded the harshest punishment for such a heinous and anti-social crime committed by an educator. He added that the verdict has finally brought justice to the victim's family. This landmark judgment has been widely welcomed by the conscious citizens of Udaipur, who believe this punishment will send a stern message to criminals in society.