A special fast-track court in Kerala’s Thiruvananthapuram sentenced a 44-year-old tuition teacher to 111 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a minor student, news agency PTI reported.

The accused, a government employee, conducted private tuition classes for students at his residence. He asked the class 11 girl student to attend his “special classes” and raped her on July 2, 2019. He also captured pictures of the assault on his mobile phone and shared them among his close circles.

The incident came to light when the girl stopped attending his tuition classes in fear. Later, the girl’s parents lodged a complaint at the Fort Police Station. The convict’s wife died of suicide after learning about her husband’s abuse of the minor girl.

Also read | IIT Kanpur cancels police officer’s PhD admission over rape accusation

During the trial, the teacher claimed that he was present at work during the incident and also produced registered leave records with signatures.

The prosecution, led by Special Public Prosecutor R S Vijay Mohan and R V Akhilesh, presented call records from his phone, which proved that he was near the tuition centre during the incident.

In her verdict, the special fast-track court judge R Rekha noted that the teacher, who was supposed to be the child’s guardian, had committed a crime that warranted “no mercy”. He was fined ₹1.05 lakh, which, if unpaid, will invite an additional year of imprisonment.

Also read | Man convicted of wife’s mass rape in France will not appeal: Lawyer

Similar crime

In a similar incident in Bengaluru in November, a 22-year-old physical education teacher was arrested for allegedly raping a 17-year-old student.

The victim said that the teacher had allegedly tricked the minor into visiting Devarayana Durga Hill a month ago and then took her to a lodge in Tumkur, where he assaulted her.

The accused took the victim to his home 10 days later and raped her again. He then allegedly threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incidents.

(With PTI inputs)