A special POCSO court here in Maharashtra has sentenced a 25-year-old man to five years' rigorous imprisonment for sexually abusing his minor niece in 2018, even as the victim turned hostile during the case trial. Special Judge (POCSO) V V Virkar passed the order on December 10 and a copy of it was made available on Monday.

She pronounced the accused guilty under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code, and also imposed a collective fine of Rs 6,000 on him.