Gas cylinder delivery man awarded 10 yrs’ RI under Pocso for raping 7-yr-old girl in ’19

Thane: A 44-year-old gas cylinder delivery man from Amrut Nagar of Mumbra who was found guilty of sexually abusing a 7-year old girl in 2019, has been sentenced to 10 years rigorous imprisonment by a Thane court.
The convict was sentenced under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act by special judge D S Deshmukh, who also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the convict.
The judge further instructed that the collected fine be given to the victim as compensation. He also ordered that a copy of the court order be sent to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for additional compensation to the victim, as per legal provisions.
In his judgment, the judge remarked that the prosecution has successfully established all the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt, warranting his conviction and sentencing.
Special public prosecutor Sandhya Mhatre informed the court that on May 23, 2019, the victim, then aged seven, was playing outside her house when the accused, who resided opposite her house, forcibly took her inside his residence and raped her.
The accused also threatened her with dire consequences if she disclosed the incident to anyone. On one previous occasion, he had acted similarly with the victim. Subsequently, the victim informed her parents about the incident, following which they approached the police and filed the complaint, leading to his arrest.
Advocate Mhatre stated that the court accepted the victim's medical examination report as evidence and convicted the accused.
Court constable of the Mumbra police station, Vidyasagar Koli, who assisted the prosecution throughout the trial, said that seven prosecution witnesses were examined in court to substantiate the charges against the accused, resulting in his conviction.