Tripura: Sanitation worker jailed 3 years for molesting minors at Covid centre

Agartala: Tripura's Unakoti district court 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 followed a prolonged trial, bringing closure to a distressing case that emerged during the height of the pandemic.

Public Prosecutor Sunirmal Deb said, the accused identified as Jhantu Deb, posted at the centre, inappropriately touched and groped minor female patients.

He reportedly misled the victims, claiming his actions were part of their medical treatment. The girls, upon realizing they were being deceived, reported the incidents to the centre’s in-charge doctor.

The first incident occurred on September 2, 2020. Two days later, on September 4, 2020, two minor girls, one from Kailashahar and another from Kumarghat, lodged a formal written complaint against Jhantu Deb at the Kumarghat Police Station.”

Responding swiftly, the police registered a case and arrested the accused, who hails from North Pabiachhara in Kumarghat. Investigating Officer Gobinda Lal Sinha conducted a thorough probe and submitted the charge sheet before the court on November 30, 2020. During the subsequent trial, testimonies of 16 witnesses had been examined against Jhantu Deb.

Unakoti District Court's Special Judge, Amarendra Kumar Singh, found Jhantu Deb guilty of the charges. In addition to the three-year jail term, the court imposed a fine of Rs 3,000. Failure to pay the fine will result in an additional three months of imprisonment.

Public Prosecutor Sunirmil Deb represented the government throughout the proceedings.