A special POCSO court in Yupia in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday awarded the death sentence to a man who had committed sexual assault on 21 minors, including 15 girls, at a residential school.
The special judge (POCSO) of the west session division, Yupia, also awarded two other convicts accused in the case 20 years of rigorous imprisonment each.
The prime accused, Yumken Bagra, was a warden of a hostel at Karo Government Residential School in Shi-Yomi district, where he sexually assaulted 21 children, including 15 girls between 6 and 15 years of age, between 2019 and 2022.
Capital Superintendent of Police (SP) Rohit Rajbir Singh said co-accused Marbom Ngomdir is a Hindi teacher, and Singtun Yorpen was the school’s former headmaster.
Bagra was convicted under Sections 328 and 506 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) as well as Sections 6, 10, and 12 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. He has been given a death sentence because the severity of the crime had been tolerated by him so much, SP said.
Singh informed that the court convicted Ngomdir under Section 506 of the IPC and sections 17 and 21(1) of the POCSO Act, whereas Yorpen has been convicted under sections 17 and 21(2) of the POCSO Act.
This judgment addresses the immediate issue but, most importantly, marks a critical juncture for overall societal awareness of child protection. “This judgment reinforces the collective responsibility for protecting children’s rights and welfare,” Singh said.
Reports of sexual abuse at the residential school were received after two sisters brought it to their parents on November 2 last year. Two days later, an FIR was lodged with Monigong police station in the district.
Bagra was on the run and was arrested by the police in November last year.
