Bengaluru, March 10 A Karnataka court has sentenced a 25-year-old man to 40 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor girl with physical and mental disabilities in the Belagavi district.
The accused, Dhareppa alias Dheeraj Angata Khanase, illegally entered the girl's house while her family members were out for work on August 25, 2025, police said.
According to police, the accused dragged the minor girl, who was sitting outside the house, and forcibly committed the sexual offense.
In this regard, a case was registered at the Sankeshwar Police Station in Belagavi district under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, based on a complaint lodged by the parents of the minor girl, who belongs to a Scheduled Caste and has physical and mental disabilities.
The investigation was carried out by the Directorate of Civil Rights Enforcement (DCRE), a special wing of the Karnataka State Police.
The investigating officer, Mahantesh V H Hosapeti of the Belagavi DCRE police station, collected appropriate evidence and filed the charge sheet within the stipulated time before the Additional District and Sessions Court, Fast Track POCSO Court-1, after completion of the probe, the DCRE said in a statement.
The Additional District and Sessions Court, Fast Track POCSO Court-1, conducted the trial and completed it in just four months and seven days, it said.
The court pronounced the verdict on March 4, 2026, in which the accused Dhareppa, a resident of Karajaga in Hukkeri taluka of Belagavi district, was sentenced to 30 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012, and 10 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 50,000 under relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015.
In the case, L V Patil, Special Government Prosecutor, strongly argued on behalf of the government and the victim, and the investigating officer also monitored the court proceedings efficiently and meticulously to ensure that justice was delivered to the victim, it added.