Thane court acquits man in 5-year-old girl's sexual assault case, cites lapses in probe

The court noted that the girl explicitly denied that the accused had assaulted her. Representational pic

A special court in Thane has acquitted a 56-year-old man in the alleged sexual assault of a five-year-old girl, citing serious lapses in the prosecution's case and failure to establish the identity of the accused, news agency PTI reported.

The alleged incident took place on May 23 in the Rabodi area of Thane. According to the prosecution, the child was playing outside when the accused allegedly lured her with a promise of chocolates, took her to the third floor, and sexually assaulted her.

Special Judge GT Pawar acquitted the man on Tuesday. He had spent four months in custody and was facing charges under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Section 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

A key issue before the court was the failure to establish the accused's identity. The court particularly highlighted the police's failure to capture a photograph of the accused at the time of his arrest.

The prosecution had argued that the five-year-old girl could not identify the accused during the court proceedings held via video conference because his appearance had changed while he was in jail.

Rejecting the argument, the judge noted: "There is nothing on record to show the appearance of the accused at the time of the incident to compare the changes.

"No photograph is affixed on the arrest form. If (Investigating Officer) had affixed a photograph of the accused on the arrest form, it could have been used for comparing the change in appearance of the accused."

The court also noted that the girl explicitly denied in court that the accused had assaulted her. She further told the court that the police had asked her to depose.

Based on the prosecution's failure to establish the accused's identity and other lapses highlighted during the proceedings, the special court acquitted the 56-year-old man.

Latur man arrested for allegedly raping 17-year-old over ‘kundali dosh'

Police in Maharashtra's Latur have arrested a man for allegedly raping and impregnating a 17-year-old girl on the pretext of removing a ‘dosh' or flaw in her horoscope, an official said on Thursday.

The accused, Rameshwar Maharaj, a resident of Thakre Chowk in Latur, allegedly convinced the girl that there was a problem with her ‘kundali' (horoscope) that required certain rituals for correction, the Vivekanand Chowk Police Station official told news agency PTI.

"Under the pretext of so-called corrective measures, he raped the girl at her residence, due to which she got pregnant. He also told her not to mention it to anyone or else the affliction in the horoscope would return. The crime took place in June this year," he said.

A case was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the state's Anti-Superstition Act, Sub-Inspector AK Kale told PTI.

Rameshwar was arrested on Wednesday, Kale added.

A local court later remanded him in police custody for four days.

(With PTI inputs)