Court delivers verdict in 2010 assault case, man sentenced to three years in prison

A sessions court in Maharashtrarsquos Thane has sentenced a 34yearold man to three years in prison after finding him guilty in an assault case that dates back nearly 15 yearsA copy of the judgment passed on January 31 by Additional Sessions Judge A N Sirsikar was made available on Friday confirming the conviction of the accusedAccording to PTI Additional Public Prosecutor Rashmi G Kshirsagar stated that the convict identified as Dhanraj alias Dhanya Ramakant Todankar along with four others was involved in an attack on two individuals Ganesh Agawane and Dinesh Yadav in Thane city in 2010 The altercation allegedly took place over the installation of a Ganesh pandal leading to a violent confrontationAs per PTI reports Todankar assaulted Yadav with a chopper resulting in serious injuries that required 13 days of hospitalisation Subsequently an attempt to murder charge was pressed against him However the court later dropped this charge citing the absence of any medical opinion suggesting that the injuries sustained by Yadav were lifethreatening or grievousThe court after examining the evidence and testimonies presented found Todankar guilty under Section 324 of the Indian Penal Code IPC which pertains to voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means Consequently he was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonmentThane man gets 3year imprisonment for sexually harassing teenage girlA court in MaharashtrasThane districthas sentenced a 51yearold man to three years rigorous imprisonment for sexually harassing a minor girl in 2019 reported news agency PTISuch incidents should be reported to police as it will help in creating an awareness in society and the convictions will serve as a deterrent to the offenders the prosecution quoted special POCSO court judge DS Deshmukh as saying in the order passed on WednesdaySpecial Public Prosecutor Sandhya H Matre told the court that on July 5 2019 the victim then aged 13 and studying in Class 9 was on way to her school in ThanesMumbra areawhen the accused Moij Hatim Rampurwala followed her and touched her inappropriately reported PTIThe girl resisted his advances raised an alarm and hit the Thane man with an umbrella following which a woman passing by rushed there and saved the victim while the accused ran awayThe victim and the woman chased the Thane man to his house and later nabbed him the prosecution saidThe girl and the woman subsequently approached the police and lodged a complaint against theThane manfollowing which he was arrestedJudge Deshmukh on Wednesday pronounced the accused guilty on charges of sexual harassment and under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POCSO Act reported PTIThe prosecutor quoted the judge as saying that these days such crimes against minor girls are on the rise but the victims seldom come forward tofile complaintThe society should realise that it is a crime and complaints should be made of such incidents which will go a long way in giving protection to girls creating awareness in the society and such convictions will be deterrent to the offenders the judge said reported PTIIn the order the court noted thatthe prosecutionhas successfully proved all charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt for which he needs to be convicted and sentencedThe court also imposed a fine of Rs 20000 on the accusedThe judge directed that once the amount is recovered from the accused it should be paid to the victim as compensation and the case be referred to the District Legal Services Authority DLSA for payment of additional compensation as per the lawFour witnesses including the victim and the woman who helped her were examined to prove the charges against the accused the prosecutor saidWith inputs from PTI