PUNE: A sessions court has convicted and sentenced a 22-year-old man to five years rigorous imprisonment for sexual assault on two nine-year-old children — a boy and a girl — in Hadapsar in 2015.
"The police found that the accused, Sandip Salunkhe, had committed similar offences on other children. The police recorded their statements and those of other witnesses. However, during the trial, only the girl and the boy came forward to record their evidence," additional public prosecutor P S Agarwal said on Sunday.
Additional sessions judge Dilip G Murumkar held Salunkhe guilty under Section 9 (m) of the POCSO Act and sentenced him to five years rigorous imprisonment and a Rs1,000 fine. Salunkhe will have to serve a six-month simple jail term if he fails to furnish the fine, the court ruled. Salunkhe was also found guilty under IPC Section 354 (A) (1) and Section 8 of POCSO Act. The court sentenced him to three years' rigorous imprisonment for each offence, to be served concurrently with the main prison term.
Salunkhe had taken a defence of total denial, arguing that there was a six-day delay in the lodging of an FIR against him, and that there were certain omissions in the statement recorded by the girl and that the statements of other students of her class and the class teacher were not recorded by the investigating officer (IO).
The court dismissed the defence as "the evidence of victim minor girl could not be thrown out considering her age and innocence and corroboration by the other witness/minor victim boy", and observed that the age of the victims shows that he committed the act with sexual intent. "Hence, Section 9(m) of POCSO Act was applicable," the court ruled, adding that the minors' testimony corroborated the prosecution's case.
"The police found that the accused, Sandip Salunkhe, had committed similar offences on other children. The police recorded their statements and those of other witnesses. However, during the trial, only the girl and the boy came forward to record their evidence," additional public prosecutor P S Agarwal said on Sunday.
Additional sessions judge Dilip G Murumkar held Salunkhe guilty under Section 9 (m) of the POCSO Act and sentenced him to five years rigorous imprisonment and a Rs1,000 fine. Salunkhe will have to serve a six-month simple jail term if he fails to furnish the fine, the court ruled. Salunkhe was also found guilty under IPC Section 354 (A) (1) and Section 8 of POCSO Act. The court sentenced him to three years' rigorous imprisonment for each offence, to be served concurrently with the main prison term.
Salunkhe had taken a defence of total denial, arguing that there was a six-day delay in the lodging of an FIR against him, and that there were certain omissions in the statement recorded by the girl and that the statements of other students of her class and the class teacher were not recorded by the investigating officer (IO).
The court dismissed the defence as "the evidence of victim minor girl could not be thrown out considering her age and innocence and corroboration by the other witness/minor victim boy", and observed that the age of the victims shows that he committed the act with sexual intent. "Hence, Section 9(m) of POCSO Act was applicable," the court ruled, adding that the minors' testimony corroborated the prosecution's case.
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