Man sentenced to ten years in prison for sexually abusing a minor on a school bus

Thiruvananthapuram: A 58-year-old man, who sexually assaulted a nine-year-old girl, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. Thiruvananthapuram POCSO Court Judge MP Shibu also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on him.
The incident took place in 2017. He was the cleaner of the school bus. The man, who was standing on the running board, attacked her when the girl got off the bus. The girl told her parents about her ordeal and then to the school administration. However, the school administration did not take any action as the accused was his relative.

When the girls objected to attending their previous school, their parents sent them to another school.
While the guidance counselor at the new school was discussing bad and good touches, the child recounted the incident on the bus at her previous school. The authorities at the new school reported him to the police.

However, the director misled the police by claiming that the bus in which the incident occurred was only built and put into service after the incident.

The public prosecutor then called for further investigations into the case. During subsequent investigations, the school authorities learned that the bus had been sold to a scrap dealer and scrapped.

When the police realized that the school principal had deliberately sabotaged the case, they filed a new charge sheet with this information in the court. The school principal, who now approved the charge, had given a statement in favor of the accused.