A special court has sentenced a 21-year-old auto driver to one-year of rigorous imprisonment for following his 17-year-old girlfriend to her classroom and bus stop, where he abused and threatened her, even after she made her intention clear that she wanted to end the relationship with him.
POCSO court imposes fine against the boy
The designated court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act also imposed a fine of Rs20,000 on him and said in its judgment that he should have respected her decision, but he instead compelled her to continue the relationship.
The court said that testimony of the victim shows he abused her in filthy language, tried to contact her repeatedly and followed her. He had threatened her with consequences, compelled her to accompany him to his home and also inflicted a blade injury on his chest at a public place. It noted that he had compelled her to ride on his bike and had taken her to BKC from a bus stop.
Mother of victim testifies, says accused didn't mend his ways despite dissuading
The mother of the victim had also testified. She said she had learnt about the incidents from her daughter. She had told the court that she had tried to dissuade the accused, their neighbour, from harassing her daughter and had also informed his parents, but he would not mend his ways.
The victim and the accused had entered into a relationship in early 2018 after he had proposed to her. The victim had told the court that he would frequently ask her not to speak with other boys and would also handle her social media - among the reasons she wanted to end the relationship with him.
In the judgment of Dec 20, special judge Priya P Bankar considered the arguments made for leniency made by the accused’s lawyer. He had submitted that the accused is a young boy from a poor family who did not have criminal antecedents. The court considered these while deciding the sentence.
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