A special court sentenced the man to five years of imprisonment for sexual assault under the POCSO Act, trusting the minor victim's testimony. He was also fined Rs 5,000 for the survivor compensation. The prosecution detailed how the man, then 24, allegedly lured the five-year-old boy in 2022 with chocolates to assault the child
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Holding the testimony of a minor boy trustworthy, a special court in Thane has convicted a man under provisions of the POCSO Act for sexual assault and sentenced him to rigorous imprisonment of five years, reported news agency PTI.
The special Judge DS Deshmukh also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Ravikumar Rohidas, which will be paid to the survivor as compensation. Rohidas was, however, acquitted of the charges related to carnal intercourse against the order of nature (IPC section 377) and aggravated penetrative sexual assault (section 5-m punishable under section 6 of the POCSO Act). The order was passed on July 19, a copy of which became available on Wednesday.
The prosecution argued that Rohidas, then 24 years old, allegedly lured the five-year-old boy with chocolates to accompany him on May 13, 2022. The child returned home injured the next day, recounting that Rohidas took him to a creek, assaulted him with a stone on his cheek, threatened him, removed his clothes, and touched his private parts with sexual intent, reported PTI.
The special court examined seven witnesses. "The sole testimony of the victim child would suffice to hold that accused with sexual intent did aggravated sexual assault on him," the judge stated, relying on medical evidence that corroborated injuries on the survivor's face, including abrasions, reported PTI.
Furthermore, the judge emphasised that the sutures given to the child indicated a blow from a sharp object and dismissed the defence's argument that the injuries could have resulted from playing.
The court, however, acquitted Rohidas of charges of carnal intercourse and penetrative sexual assault. "There is nothing on record to hold that the accused did carnal intercourse with the victim child. Also, it is not proved that he did aggravated penetrative sexual assault on the victim child," the judge noted.
He dismissed the defence's arguments that Rohidas was falsely implicated due to an old dispute between him and the child's family, reported PTI.
Further, the order stated, "The accused's claim of false implication due to a previous fight with the victim's father was dismissed as improbable, given the child's injuries."
According to PTI, Rohidas was convicted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and sections pertaining to kidnapping and voluntarily causing hurt of the Indian Penal Code, the prosecution said.
The court took a "lenient view considering the nature of the offence, submissions of the accused and his detention in jail."
(With inputs from PTI)
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