Mumbai: A special POCSO court on Tuesday convicted and sentenced a 26-year-old man to 20 years imprisonment for the kidnapping and gangraping of a 14-year-old girl in 2019 in Ghatkopar. The second accused was a minor whose case was separated and tried before the juvenile board.
On January 25, 2019, the girl had gone missing for which her mother lodged a report. The minor claimed that her mother slapped her because she had not cooked food and also didn’t do any household work. Hence, on the pretext of going to buy soap, she left the house and hid herself in the public toilet.
Meanwhile, one of the accused, who resided in the nearby locality, saw her and forced the victim to join him and go to Ghatkopar. There, the girl said, the accused men sexually assaulted her and when she resisted they inflicted burn injuries on her leg. Besides they threw her clothes and gave the clothes of the wife of one of the accused.
The victim in her testimony, most of which was recorded in question and answer format, said that two accused turn by turn raped her and she was kept there for 5-6 days.
The accused had told the neighbours that he loved the girl and wanted to marry her and finally ran away from the house, a witness had told the court. Later, the third friend of the accused came there and tried to rescue the girl. He informed the victim’s parents who rescued to girl on January 31.
The family later got the case registered with the Shivaji Nagar police station. The prosecution heavily relied on the statement of the victim, her mother and medical officer who confirmed that the girl was sexually assaulted. Besides, the testimony of the woman at whose house the accused had kept the girl also helped the prosecution to corroborate the case.
