A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a 28-year-old man to 10 years rigorous imprisonment for having unnatural sex with a minor boy in 2016. Special POCSO court judge DS Deshmukh, in the order on July 2 (Tuesday), noted the prosecution has successfully proved all the charges beyond reasonable doubt against the accused, resident of Waghbil area in Thane city.
A copy of the order was made available on Thursday. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the accused and directed the amount be paid to the victim as compensation. The judge also directed that the case be referred to the District Legal Services Authority (DLSA) for additional compensation to the victim.
Special Public Prosecutor Sandhya H Mhatre told the court that on the night of December 24, 2016, the victim, then aged 11, was walking home alone after attending a Christmas eve function at the house of his friend.
The accused caught him mid-way, took him below a tree on a roadside amid the darkness and had unnatural sex with him. After returning home, the victim complained of severe pain in his private parts. His parents found injuries in his anus and when asked, the boy informed them about the incident.
Victim's parents filed complaint
The victim's parents then filed a complaint, based on which the police registered an FIR under legal provisions for unnatural offences and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The accused was later arrested, as per the prosecution.
Mhatre said a total of eight witnesses, including the victim and his mother, were examined to prove the case against the accused. Blood stains on the victim's clothes matched with the samples of the accused, which was accepted by the court as a clinching evidence to convict him, she said.
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