A court in Maharashtra`s Thane district has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl in 2018, reported news agency PTI.
Additional sessions judge D S Deshmukh found the accused, Prince Santosh Mishra, guilty of charges under the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, reported PTI.
The Thane court, in an order dated July 3, also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on him, which is to be paid to the victim as compensation.
Additionally, the case has been referred to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for considering further compensation for the victim.
Special public prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale informed the Thane court that the assault took place on November 2, 2018, and it came to light after a neighbour alerted the girl`s mother that the teen had left with two boys in an autorickshaw. Upon her return, the girl informed her mother that the accused had persuaded her to accompany him to a friend`s house, reported PTI.
The accused sexually assaulted the girl at his friend`s house, and she managed to free herself and found her way back home.
The accused was also convicted under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Act, 2015, as the girl belongs to a Scheduled Caste community.
The court noted the consistency of the victim`s account. “The evidence of victim is consistent on the point of penetrative sexual assault committed by the accused Prince with her in the room of other accused,” it said, reported PTI.
The court dismissed Mishra`s defence that the complaint was fabricated due to a disputed loan, finding no supporting documentary evidence.
The court also acquitted Mishra`s friend, Akram Chand Khan, who was named co-accused, citing that he had no knowledge of the incident, reported PTI.
During sentencing, Mishra`s counsel pleaded for leniency, citing his age and role as the sole earning member of his family and his five-year incarceration.
The judge, while acknowledging the accused`s circumstances, said, “The act of sexual assault on the child is to be viewed seriously, and such offences are to be dealt with in a stringent manner.”
(With inputs from PTI)
