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The Thalassery Protection of Children Sexual Offences (POCSO) Fast Track Special Court connected Friday (November 14, 2025) – observed arsenic Children’s Day – recovered erstwhile Triprangode panchayat president K. Padmarajan (49) guilty of sexually assaulting a Class 4 miss astatine a schoolhouse astatine Palathayi, Panoor, successful Kannur, Kerala. Judge M.T. Jalaja Rani volition pronounce the condemnation connected Saturday (November 15, 2025).
According to the prosecution, Padmarajan, a teacher, molested the kid 3 times successful January 2020 aft taking her to the schoolhouse bathroom. The prosecution examined 40 witnesses, including the girl, and produced 77 documents and 14 worldly exhibits. The defence examined 3 witnesses, including the counsellor who recorded the child’s statement.
The lawsuit had triggered a contention aft the constabulary were accused of shielding the RSS-linked accused and undermining the girl’s testimony. The Crime Branch took implicit the probe pursuing involution by the High Court and aboriginal filed the last chargesheet nether applicable POCSO Act provisions.
The kid archetypal disclosed the maltreatment to Childline connected March 17, 2020, naming Padmarajan. He was arrested connected April 15 from a hideout astatine Poyilur Vilakottur. However, erstwhile she could not callback the nonstop dates of the abuse, a conception of the constabulary allegedly attempted to weaken the case.
The FIR listed a day connected which the accused was connected leave, a day that the constabulary provided to the counsellors and the doc who examined the child. After the lawsuit was initially booked nether “weaker” sections, Padmarajan secured bail connected the 90th day. The girl’s parent past approached the High Court.
During this period, Crime Branch IG S. Sreejith sparked different contention by divulging the child’s confidential statement. When the girl’s parent and the enactment committee sought cancellation of the bail, the investigating squad submitted a study suggesting the kid had lied. Crime subdivision DySP T.P. Ratnakumar yet filed the last POCSO chargesheet.
During the trial, erstwhile schoolhouse headmaster K.K. Dineshan testified successful favour of the accused. Though the kid had not attended schoolhouse for months aft the abuse, her attendance was marked. The headmaster claimed that this was done to guarantee continuity of the midday repast allowance.
