HT Digital
UNAKOTI, JUNE 20: A Tripura court in the Unakoti district on Thursday sentenced a 52-year-old sanitation worker to three years of imprisonment for molesting minor girls at the Kumarghat COVID Care Centre in 2020. The verdict brings an end to a long and agonizing case that started in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The accused, Jhantu Deb, was posted in the Kumarghat COVID Care Centre when he assaulted a number of minor female patients by improperly touching and groping them, Public Prosecutor Sunirmal Deb told. He is said to have cheated the victims by telling them that his actions were part of their treatment. The girls, noticing they were being cheated, reported this to the in-charge doctor of the centre, which led to immediate action.
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The initial incident was said to have occurred on 2nd September 2020. Two days after this, on September 4th, two minor girls, one from Kumarghat and the other from Kailashahar, made a written complaint at the Kumarghat Police Station, formally reporting the issue.
Police responded swiftly, arresting Jhantu Deb, who is a North Pabiachhara resident in Kumarghat. Investigating Officer Gobinda Lal Sinha carried out a rigorous investigation and filed the charge sheet with the court on 30 November 2020. While on trial, the prosecution cross-examined depositions of 16 witnesses, which eventually resulted in a conviction. Unakoti District Court Special Judge Amarendra Kumar Singh held Jhantu Deb guilty of the offenses. Along with the three-year jail term, the court levied a fine of ₹3,000. The additional three months’ jail term will be awarded if the fine is not paid.
