Thane court sentences accused in molestation case within 45 days

A Thane magistrate’s court has sentenced the 57-year-old accused to one year’s regiorous imprisonment after fast tracking the trial

THANE: A Thane magistrate’s court has convicted the accused in a molestation case in a record time of one and half months on July 6 and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment for one year.

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A case was registered on 24 May 2023 where a 22-year-old specially abled woman was molested by a flower shopkeeper in Thane’s Shri Nagar area. Shri Nagar police registered a case and within 24 hours, they filed a charge sheet and arrested the accused.

The young woman from Karnataka had come during vacation at her maternal uncle’s house in Thane in April when the incident took place. Since she became familiar with the surrounding area near the uncle’s residence in a month’s time, she would go out on her own to the local market.

A flower vendor Rohidas Ghangurde, 57 years old, used to watch the woman and was aware of her mental health. One day finding the woman alone in the afternoon time, he offered her a mango and took her near his house. He touched her private parts inappropriately and kissed her. Embarrassed, she immediately ran towards her house.

Kiran Kabadi, Senior Police Inspector, Shri Nagar police station, said, “The woman narrated the incident to her grandmother with hand gestures, but she ignored it initially. On May 23 and 24, the accused again molested her. She was deeply disturbed and stopped having food. Family members then came to know the fact. They went to ask the accused about the same, but he shouted at them. The family then brought her to the police station and she was not able to explain in words but narrated with the hand gesture to us and identified the accused too. We immediately filed a case under IPC 354, 354 A and 506. The accused was arrested immediately, and a charge sheet was filed the next day.”

The investigation officer Sub Inspector Nitin Hange and head constable Prakash Chavhan attached five witness statements with the other details of the case and submitted an application to the court to fast track the case as the girl belonged to Karnataka and it would be difficult for her to travel looking at their financial condition. They also requested the court to record her testimony on priority due to her mental health.

Assistant Public Prosecutor Mahendra R Pisat said, “A bench of Judge H K Pardesi approved the application for fast tracking the case and accordingly the case hearing started. The court twice examined victim’s statement in which she narrated the incident with a gesture and broken language confidently. The court considered her sole testimony and on July 6, the accused was convicted and sentenced a year of rigorous imprisonment with fine of ₹11,000.”

The family was really happy with the judgment and its speed. The woman’s 50-year-old uncle said, “I have heard court hearing proceedings take a long time. I was very worried that even if I want justice for my niece, how we will manage her travelling expenses if proceedings continue for a year and more. Also, she will always need to be accompanied by a person to travel. We are daily wage workers and we cannot afford to even take one off work. We are really thankful to the court for doing justice to us within such a short time.”