Thane: The Thane Sessions Court has convicted a 47-year-old man who was arrested in March 2018 for kidnapping a minor girl. The court has sentenced the accused to seven years of rigorous imprisonment.
However, the court acquitted him of the stringent charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) after the prosecution failed to establish the same against him.
Additional Sessions Judge (Kalyan) P.R. Ashturkar also dropped the rape charges pressed against the accused, Deepak alias Ganesh Bhanudas Bhuktar, citing lack of evidence. The accused was arrested in 2018 after a case was registered against him for kidnapping a 13-year-old girl and taking her to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly known as Aurangabad.
The accused had secretly given her a phone, which the court said was “indicative of malicious intent,” thereby proving the kidnapping charge against him. However, the court found the rape allegations lacked specific and clear evidence.
“The girl and her mother failed to provide any specific details regarding the alleged sexual assault, including the date, time, or place,” the court held while delivering the judgment.
