POCSO COURT CONVICTS AN ACCUSED FOR 5 YEAR JAIL TERM FOR SEXUALLY ABUSING MINORS

The POCSO court has recently sentenced a 33-year-old Bhandup resident for sexually abusing minors, one of whom had suffered 75% burn injuries and died later. The convict has not been charged with rape. The court also awarded a fine of 1.12 lakh, out of which 50 thousand will go to her family. 

The incident came out after the girl was found dead with 75% burn and a suicide note was found by her family, blaming the accused for ending her life. The prosecution alleged that she decided to take the step because of the continued sexual harassment by the accused.

The convict allegedly sexually harassed minors, one of them being the victim, by showing them pornographic videos when they visited his house for school projects.

After considering both the sides and the suicide note, the court observed that, "The deposition of child witnesses established that the accused was using his mobile phone to show obscene, pornographic material to the minor girls with sexual intent. He has outraged the modesty by touching their body while showing them video clips."

The court however denied the theory of suicide and instead claimed that it was an accident. "There is a possibility that child got burn injuries through a stove as she was not in an attentive state of mind. The child was disturbed due to an obscene video clip. If the child had the intention to attempt suicide, she would have poured kerosene on herself & this is not the case" the court observed.

Author: Papiha Ghoshal