A special POCSO court in Thane has sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl in 2019, relying on the child’s testimony and observing that the defence had failed to establish that she was tutored.
In its judgment pronounced on Tuesday, special court judge G T Pawar held that the prosecution had successfully proved the charges against the accused, identified as Aakash Baburao Thorat.
According to the prosecution, the incident occurred on the afternoon of December 1, 2019, when the victim, then aged 5, had gone to play at her neighbour's house in a chawl (row tenement) in the Mumbra area of Maharashtra's Thane district.
The accused, who resided in the neighbourhood, lured the child to his house, played television for her, and then sexually assaulted her.
The terrified child later returned home and informed about the incident to her mother, who subsequently confronted the accused before reporting the matter to the police, the prosecution said.
Following an investigation, the police filed a chargesheet. The accused was charged under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
During the trial, the prosecution examined three key witnesses - the victim, her mother and the investigating officer, alongside documentary evidence.
"The evidence of the victim is of sterling quality and defence has failed to impeach her evidence or bring on record any material to establish that she was tutored. Hence, I am relying upon her evidence," the judge said.
"Certain discrepancies in investigation, like drawing of spot panchanama of wrong spot or not sending victim for medical examination are not fatal as nothing is recovered from the spot," he noted.
The court sentenced the accused to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment after convicting him under Section 6 (aggravated penetrative sexual assault against a child) of the POCSO Act and imposed a fine of Rs 5,000, with an additional 3 months of rigorous imprisonment in default.
It also sentenced the accused to three years of rigorous imprisonment under IPC section 354A (sexual harassment) and fined him Rs 1,000.
Both sentences shall run concurrently, with the accused entitled to a set-off for the period of detention already undergone.
The court directed that the fine amount of Rs 6,000 be paid to the victim, and directed the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Thane, to award her additional compensation.
(With Inputs from PTI)
