A special court in Maharashtra`s Thane district has sentenced a man to imprisonment for the remainder of his natural life after convicting him in a case of gang rape under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, reported news agency PTI.
In his order on Thursday, Additional Sessions and Special Judge (POCSO) N K Karande in Bhiwandi also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the 25-year-old convict Sagar Janu Dhangate, a resident of neighbouring Palghar district, reported PTI.
The case involves three other accused, who were juveniles at the time of the crime. That matter is currently being heard before the Juvenile Justice Court.
According to Special Public Prosecutor Vijay B Munde, Dhangate and three minors raped a 17-year-old girl when she was returning home after fetching water from a river on January 18, 2019, reported PTI.
The girl, then a student of an Ashram school, had gone to her family in Palghar district to assist them with ration purchases when she was sexually assaulted. After learning about the crime, her mother approached the police, reported PTI.
Nine prosecution witnesses, including the survivor, were examined in the POCSO court, which held that the prosecution had successfully proved the grave charges of gang rape and POCSO against the adult accused.
The court then handed a life sentence to the accused Dhangate.
Man gets 3 months jail for sexually harassing minor in local train
In another case, a special court has sentenced a 27-year-old man to three months of imprisonment for sexually harassing a minor on board a local train, noting that travelling in the general compartment does not justify any male passenger repeatedly touching a woman, reported PTI.
Special judge Neeta Anekar passed the order on November 1, holding the accused guilty of the offences committed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) section 354(D) (stalking) as well as relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, reported PTI.
The court sentenced him to three months of jail, but granted a set-off for the period under detention during the trial from January 4, 2019, to April 15, 2019.
As per the prosecution, the 17-year-old victim claimed that the accused had been chasing her for about a year. He would repeatedly board the same train compartment she used for her college commute from Borivali to Vile Parle, reported PTI.
The specific incident on January 4, 2019, occurred when the victim was travelling with her elder brother, the prosecution said.
The victim and her brother boarded the Borivali slow local at Vile Parle station around 6 pm.
The accused also boarded the same train and stood near her. When the train reached Andheri station, the accused came close to the victim, started pushing her, and repeatedly touched her thigh. The victim signalled her brother, who witnessed the incident and caught the accused, reported PTI.
The accused was then taken to the police station with the help of police officials at Borivali station.
The court accepted the testimony of the victim and her brother, noting that the victim`s account of being followed and touched was reliable.
The defence had challenged the victim`s testimony on the ground he has a first-class pass and hence there was no reason for her to travel in second class during peak rush hour.
The court stressed that second-class compartments in a city like Mumbai are extremely crowded during such times.
“However, the fact that the victim was travelling in a second-class compartment despite having a first-class pass is not sufficient to discredit her testimony,” the court said, reported PTI.
The special judge pointed out that during the cross-examination, it was told that her college friends often traveled with her, and they typically used the second-class compartment.
It is entirely plausible that the victim chose to travel with her friends in the second-class compartment, the court noted.
“While it is true that the compartment in question was not reserved for women passengers, this does not justify any male passenger repeatedly touching a female passenger,” it added, reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
