6-yr-old deposes in court to get her rapist sentenced

A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a man to 20 years rigorous imprisonment (RI) for raping a minor girl in 2021, relying on the deposition of the six-year-old victim and other prosecution witnesses.

Special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court judge D S Deshmukh, in the order passed on Wednesday, also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on the 47-year-old accused, Pandurang Shelar, hailing from a village in Diva area of Thane.

The judge directed that the fine amount be paid to the victim towards compensation and also referred the case to the District Legal Service Authority (DLSA) for payment of additional compensation as per provisions of the law.

Police havildar Vidyasagar Koli, who assisted the prosecution in the court, said six prosecution witnesses were examined in the case.

The deposition of the victim, now aged 6, nailed the accused and helped prove the case beyond all reasonable doubts, resulting in the conviction of the accused, he said.

Special Public Prosecutor Sandhya H Mhatre told the court that the victim and the accused were neighbours.

On January 8, 2021, the accused lured the victim, who was playing outside her home, to come to his house and later raped her. He also threatened her with dire consequences if she informed about the offence to anyone, the prosecution said.

In his order, the judge noted that the prosecution has successfully proved all the charges against the accused for which he needs to be convicted and sentenced.

The accused was found guilty on various charges under the Indian Penal Code, the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the POCSO Act.