Mumbai A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012) court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually abusing four minor girls residing in his neighbourhood.
The special POCSO judge Seema Jadhav convicted the accused primarily on the basis of the testimony of the victims, which was found to be appropriately corroborated by medical reports confirming they were sexually abused.
The case against the accused was registered by the Kalachowki police station in Central Mumbai by the mother of one of the girls. She claimed that on January 31, 2018, the accused, who resided in the same building and on the same floor as her family, abused her younger daughter, a 7-year-old.
The complainant claimed that after returning from school, the girl had gone out to play in an open space near their building when the accused called her. One of the girls informed the victim’s mother that the accused had taken the victim to his house. Her elder sister then had to go and fetch the girl from the accused’s house.
After returning home, the girl informed her mother that the accused had molested her and touched her private parts inappropriately. The family went to confront the accused but he denied the allegations. However, at that time, other girls came forward and claimed that he had molested them too.
Hence the family reported the incidents to the police and the police registered an offence against him. The accused was arrested on January 31, 2018.
To bring home his guilt, public prosecutor Veena Shelar had examined all eight witnesses, including four girls, all of whom were below the age of 12 at the time of the incident. Apart from their testimonies, the prosecution also heavily relied on the medical evidence which showed that the girls were sexually abused by the accused.
The prosecution had claimed that the accused would call the girls to play in the open space outside his house by offering them chocolates and used to sexually abuse them once they went to his house.
