53-year-old from Maharashtra awarded 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping four-year-old neighbour

The Alibag sessions and district court on Monday has sentenced a 53-year-old labourer from Ranjankhar to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping his four-year-old

The Alibag sessions and district court on Monday has sentenced a 53-year-old labourer from Ranjankhar to 20 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping his four-year-old neighbour last year.

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The incident took place on January 1. As it was winter, the survivor’s relative had lit a bonfire in the evening outside their home and the children in the neighbourhood were sitting around it. By around 7.30pm, all the children, except the survivor, left the place. The accused found her alone and approached her.

Taking advantage of the situation, he made the girl sit on his lap and sexually assaulted her, additional public prosecutor Ashwini Bandivdekar-Patil said. The girl began bleeding and rushed to her mother crying and narrated what happened. The next day, the mother approached Poynad police station and registered a complaint, following which the accused was arrested under sections of rape of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.

The medical test proved that the girl was sexually assaulted, said Bandivdekar-Patil.

“The girl had very clearly recorded her statement before the magistrate, which was the most important evidence in the case. A total of seven witnesses were examined, of which the survivor and her mother, proved to be the most important ones,” Bandivdekar-Patil said.

Based on the submissions, special judge SS Shaikh sentenced the man under Pocso Act and also imposed a penalty of Rs50,000, of which Rs40,000 would be given to the survivor.