POCSO case accused escapes from Kerala court before sentencing

A POCSO convict escaped from the Fast Track Special Court complex in Karunagappally, Kollam, minutes before sentencing. Sirajul Haque, found guilty of abducting and sexually assaulting a minor, fled after conviction; the court issued a warrant following his 23-year sentence

Kollam: A POCSO case accused slipped away from the court premises minutes before he was sentenced to a cumulative 23 years for abducting a minor girl from Assam and sexually assaulting her, police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred at the Fast Track Special Court complex in Karunagappally here on Tuesday, it said.

---

Police said that 28-year-old Sirajul Haque, a native of Assam, was on bail and not in custody. He had arrived at court in the morning as the judgement was to be pronounced in his case.

The public prosecutor in the case, Premchandran NC, said that after the court pronounced Haque guilty of abducting the girl and sexually assaulting her two years ago, he was given time to confer with his lawyer before being heard on the issue of sentencing.

However, before the defence lawyer could speak with Haque outside the court, he slipped away from there, the prosecutor said.

When the case was called again and the accused was nowhere to be found, police personnel at the court immediately began a search for him, but he could not be found, the prosecutor said.

He said that the court has issued a warrant for taking Haque into custody.

Haque was on Tuesday sentenced to a cumulative of 23 years imprisonment under provisions of the IPC and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

As the highest of the punishment given to him is 20 years under the POCSO Act, he will serve that period in jail, the prosecutor said.