Nine-year-old's testimony nails rape accused, gets 20-year rigorous imprisonment

Mumbai, Jan 7 (PTI) A special court here has convicted a man for sexually assaulting a nine-year-old girl, his neighbour, in 2022 and sentenced him to 20 years' rigorous imprisonment after finding the victim's testimony to be "fully trustworthy and consistent".

The court also imposed a Rs 7,000 fine.

The judgement was delivered by Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court judge B S Gare on Tuesday.

The court ruled that the prosecution had succeeded in proving the guilt of the accused for the offence punishable under IPC sections 376 (rape), 506 (criminal intimidation) and relevant provisions of the POCSO Act.

The incident occurred in December 2022 in Khar area of Mumbai when a girl, then a student of class IV, hid in the house of the accused, her neighbour, while playing with her cousins.

The accused bolted the door and sexually assaulted her. He subsequently threatened to kill the child if she disclosed the incident to anyone, the police said.

The victim narrated the ordeal to her mother after a few days, leading to the registration of a case at Nirmal Nagar police station, and the accused was arrested.

The prosecution, represented by Special Public Prosecutor Vidya Bansode, presented nine witnesses, including the victim, her parents, and medical experts.

The defence argued that the accused was being falsely implicated due to a property dispute regarding a shop in the victim's native state of West Bengal.

However, the court dismissed these claims, noting a lack of documentary evidence and finding the victim's testimony to be "fully trustworthy" and consistent. PTI AVI/DC NSK