A special court for trying cases relating to sexual violence and atrocities against women and children, on Friday, sentenced a middle-aged man to life imprisonment for kidnapping and raping a two-year-old child of a migrant family of pavement-dwelling traders in Thiruvananthapuram in February 2024.
Additional Sessions Judge M.P. Shibu found the suspect, Hassankutty alias Kabeer, guilty of violating the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, among other criminal offences. The judge set the quantum of the punishment, some of which run concurrently, at 67 years of rigorous incarceration. He also slapped a fine of ₹72,000 on Hassankutty.
Mr. Shibu said the convict’s mitigating plea was that he was the sole provider for his aged and ailing mother. “Nevertheless, the convict is not entitled to any leniency,” he stated. The judge emphasised the seriousness of the crime, the haplessness of the victim, and the fear the felony had caused in society.
The court hailed Civil Police Officer Janosh’s “unwavering dedication, exceptional courage and strong sense of duty” in single-handedly tracking down the missing child in a remote undergrowth populated by poisonous snakes, wild animals and stray dogs. “Mr. Janosh’s actions went beyond his normal duty and reflect the highest standards of police service,” he stated.
From Andhra Pradesh
The crime occurred on the night of February 19, 2024. The family from Andhra Pradesh had arrived in the city to hawk trinkets and toys to motorists at traffic junctions.
The family, along with other members of their itinerant trading community, bivouacked at night in makeshift plastic tents pitched on the roadside near the Brahmos complex, adjacent to All Saints College in the Pettah police station limits.
According to the police, the convict spirited the child away from her sleeping parents. The family panicked when they discovered the child missing and rushed to the Pettah police for help. The police launched a massive search.
Camera footage
They inspected footage from surveillance cameras in the neighbourhood, which showed the grainy night-time images of a lanky person walking away from the spot with a child in tow.
The search ended on the morning of February 20, when Mr. Janosh found the child abandoned near a wooded spot adjoining the Brahmos campus. An analysis of the video footage helped the police pinpoint the suspect.
The police subjected the child to a medical examination and recovered the accused’s hair from her dress. Other biological evidence recovered from the victim’s body and dress matched the accused person’s DNA, the police told the special court.
Forensic experts backed the prosecution’s testimony and submitted test results from nationally accredited forensic laboratories. The prosecution examined 41 witnesses and submitted 11 objects as material evidence.
The court placed on record its appreciation for the investigating officer, Circle Inspector K. Sreejith, and Special Public Prosecutor J.K. Ajith Prasad.
Published – October 03, 2025 09:08 pm IST
