Mumbai: Man convicted for groping schoolgirl

A special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act on Thursday convicted a 30-year-old for groping a Class 8 student when she was walking home after school from the bus stop.

Deposing before the court last year, the girl told it that on Aug 7, 2014, she was going home from the bus stop in the afternoon while returning from school. The man was walking from the opposite side and had pressed her breast and walked away. She had turned to look at him and had found him laughing at her. She had gone home crying and told her grandmother about it. Then her grandmother had accompanied her to the spot to find the man, but they could not find him then.

Prosecutor Veena Shelar said the girl had told the court that two days after this incident, she had found the man following her. She immediately changed lanes and reached home. She then made a phone call to her father and told him that she had seen the same person again. Her father had promptly returned home and caught the man. He was taken to the Sakinaka police station and a complaint was lodged.

Special judge under the POCSO Act Seema Jadhav sentenced him to undergo the period of imprisonment already undergone by him as an undertrial. The man had spent over 3 years in jail over the years.