Man gets 20-year RI for sexually assaulting minor girl in Thane

Thane, Jun 24 (PTI ) A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a 24-year-old man to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a minor girl in 2022, observing the crime demonstrates the mindset of the accused.

Special POCSO curt Judge D S Deshmukh, in the order passed on Monday, also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the accused, Abhishek Jaiswal, from Diva in Thane.

According to the prosecution, the victim's sister ordered a water tanker from the accused on November 1, 2022.

When the accused arrived with the tanker, the victim was sent home at Diva in Thane to attend to him.

The accused later lured the victim by offering to drop her at a cake shop where her sister worked.

The victim returned home crying at night and alleged that the accused, along with a juvenile, forcibly took her to an open space behind a building on Manpada Road in Diva, Thane, where they subjected her to penetrative sexual assault.

The accused and the juvenile then fled in their vehicle.

The case against the minor accused has been referred to a juvenile court at Bhiwandi in Thane.

On November 2, 2022, the Mumbra police registered a case under sections 376 (rape), 366-A (procuration of minor girl) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.

The accused was subsequently arrested and has been in judicial custody since then.

During the trial, a total of six witnesses, including the victim, were examined.

After being held guilty, the accused was asked to make submissions on the point of sentence. He pleaded for leniency, stating he has no prior criminal antecedents and is the sole earning member of his family.

His counsel Reena Korde appealed for minimum punishment, emphasising that he is a young, unmarried boy of 24 years.

However, special public prosecutor Rekha Hivarale strongly argued for the imposition of maximum punishment.

She highlighted the heinous nature of the offence, stressing that the accused subjected a minor victim to penetrative sexual assault.

Judge Deshmukh in his order said the accused had committed penetrative sexual assault on the minor girl with the help of a juvenile by telling her that he will drop her to the cake shop where her sister was working.

"However, he took her to the open place near one building and subjected her to penetrative sexual assault which demonstrates the mental state or mind set of the accused," the judge observed.

The judge acknowledged the accused's submission about spending more than two years in jail and to take it into consideration while sentencing him.

Referring to the POCSO Act, the judge noted in a case where an accused commits penetrative sexual assault on a child below 16 years of age, the punishment provided for the offence under section 3, punishable under section 4(ii), of the Act is not less than 20 years and extends to the life and also the accused is liable to pay a fine.

"The statute has not given any discretion to the court to award the sentence for this offence not less than 20 years," it said.

Noting the accused is in jail since November 2, 2022, the court said he shall be at the liberty to get a set off for the period he has already spent in the prison.

The court also ordered that the amount of fine be collected from the accused and paid to the victim as compensation.

Additionally, the case has been referred to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for further compensation to the victim as per legal provisions. PTI COR GK