Kasaragod: A repeat child sex offender has been sentenced to imprisonment for the rest of his natural life for abducting a nine-year-old girl from her home, sexually assaulting her, robbing her of gold earrings, and abandoning her in the middle of the night in Kanhangad.

The Hosdurg Fast Track Special Court on Monday, August 25, awarded double life terms and an additional 35 years of rigorous imprisonment under eight charges to P A Saleem (40), a native of Napoklu in Karnataka's Kodagu district and living in Kanhangad since his marriage.

On Saturday, he was found guilty of sexual assault, kidnapping, robbery, trafficking, and criminal intimidation under the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court also imposed a fine of ₹2.71 lakh, of which ₹2 lakh will go to the survivor.

His sister, Suhaiba (21), a resident of Koothuparamba, was convicted under Section 414 of the IPC for helping sell the girl’s jewellery at a shop near her house for ₹6,400. She was fined ₹1,000 and detained in court for a day, after Judge Suresh P M accepted her statement that she believed the earrings belonged to Saleem's daughter.

Special Public Prosecutor Adv Gangadharan A said the court found the accused guilty on all the charges pressed against him. "The court particularly appreciated the witnesses, mostly the residents, for their sense of justice and honesty," he said. All 60 witnesses backed the prosecution's case, the court observed.

The court also had a word of appreciation for Inspector Azad Marutherippoyil, Hosdurg SHO and investigating officer, for proving the case beyond doubt and without loopholes.

Adv Gangadharan said the court did not accept digital evidence such as CCTV footage because they were not certified, but accepted all other pieces of scientific evidence, such as the DNA report, the victim's statement, earrings recovered from the jewellery shop and people's testimony against the accused.

The incident happened on May 15, 2024, in Kanhangad town. The girl sleeping on her grandfather's bed was found missing around 3.30 am, barely half an hour after he had stepped out to milk his three cows.

The entire neighbourhood launched a search but could not find her.

Around 4.50 am, the girl's father got a call from a house 1 km away, saying the girl was with them. It was the second house the girl knocked on in the night seeking help. Initially, police, neighbours, and family thought the girl was kidnapped only for the gold earrings. But a medical test proved she was sexually assaulted.

The then Hosdurg Station House Officer - Inspector Azad Marutherippoyil, who led the investigation, started by screening anti-social elements and residents of the area because the assaulter knew the schedule of the grandfather.

A Special Investigation Team was formed and soon zeroed in on Saleem, a repeat child abuser. Though a native of Kodagu, he had settled in Kanhangad after his marriage and occasionally went fishing in the sea.

They found he used the money he got by selling the earrings to go to Maharashtra, Bengaluru and later to Andhra Pradesh, from where he was arrested on the ninth day.

On the 39th day after his arrest, Inspector Azad filed the chargesheet before the Kasaragod District Sessions Court. He was sentenced to: life imprisonment for the rest of his natural life under Section 6 (1) read with Section 5 (m) of the POCSO Act aggravated penetrative sexual assault of a child below 12 years; life imprisonment under Section 370 (4) of the IPC for trafficking a minor; 10 years under Section 394 of IPC for causing hurt during robbery; 10 years for house trespass under Section 449 of IPC; seven years for kidnapping a child under 10 years with the intention to steal from her under Section 369 of IPC; seven years for criminal intimidation under Section 370 (4) of the IPC; and one year for wrongful confinement under Section 342 of IPC.

"We asked for a death sentence because he committed the crime when he was out on bail for sexually assaulting his relative's 13-year-old daughter, who has mild intellectual disability, in 2022," said Adv Gangadharan. "But we are happy because the court put him in prison for the rest of his life," he said.

The Special Public Prosecutor said the trial in the first sexual case will begin soon, and the charges against him are graver.