Hyderabad: A driver, Bheemana Rajani Kumar, was on Tuesday sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and penalised Rs 50,000 for raping an LKG student of a reputed school in Banjara Hills in October 2022.
T. Anitha, the 12th additional metropolitan sessions judge and fast-track special judge for POCSO cases, however, acquitted school principal Sivaraju Madhavi, who was accused of negligence for employing the convict as the personal driver.
The police said that the chargesheet was filed in 34 days and the trial concluded 84 days after the first hearing.
They said that Rajani Kumar was arrested immediately after the incident and placed in judicial remand till the court gave its verdict, despite Kumar applying for bail on multiple occasions, without success, due to police opposition.
Banjara Hills police station house officer S. Narender, who led the investigation, said there was sufficient medical and technical evidence to prove the convict’s guilt, along with circumstantial evidence through witness statements.
Over the course of hearings, the victim, her parents and school staff were deposed before it, detailing the events leading to the crime.
- 12 witnesses were examined during the trial
- 2022
- October 18: Police register case
- October 18: Accused Rajani Kumar is arrested
- October 19: Principal S. Madhavi is arrested
- November 21: Chargesheet is filed
- December 6: SCPC (court case number) is obtained
- 2023
- January 24: Trial begins
- April 18: Judgment is pronounced
Rape victim’s family unhappy over principal’s acquittal
Parents of an LKG girl who was raped by the driver of the school principal on the school premises in Jubilee Hills were dissatisfied with the principal, Sivaraju Madhavi, being acquitted by the court.
“She might have escaped the law, but God will definitely punish her for allowing this to happen to our daughter,” the girl’s parent told Deccan Chronicle.
Family members said that the girl and her twin sister, who was also studying in the same school, dropped out after the incident and have not been attending school since.
They said they are undecided about their future, owing to uncertainty about safe spaces. “Since it happened at school, where we thought they would be safe, we are now worried about their safety at other places too,” a family member said.
The victim’s parents said they cannot muster the courage to send them to any other school either, stating that their daughter was still in trauma and unable to move socially with others.
The family was anguished over the inaction against the principal, questioning why she was imprisoned for so long if she played no apparent role.
“She used him (the driver) to destroy our child and she again used him to evade punishment in court,” the victim’s brother said.
