More than decade after rape of minor man sentenced to 10 years in jail

Thane, May 15 (PTI) A court here has sentenced a 32-year-old man to ten years' rigorous imprisonment for the rape and sexual assault of a then 11-year-old girl in the district in 2013.
Dinesh S Deshmukh, special judge for Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act cases, delivered the verdict on Wednesday.
Bablu alias Mohammad Mustapha Imtiyaz Shaikh who was 20 years old at the time of the crime was found guilty under relevant sections of the POCSO Act and for rape under the Indian Penal Code.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him.
Special Public Prosecutor Sandhya Mhatre said the survivor lived in the same locality in Mumbra near here as the accused.
On the evening of July 6, 2013, when the girl was returning home from school, Shaikh accosted her and compelled her to go with him, threatening to beat up her family members otherwise, said Advocate Mhatre.
He took her to his house and raped her.
After the girl narrated the incident to her mother, a complaint was registered with Mumbra Police.
"We examined six witnesses, including the survivor and her mother, to prove the case," the prosecutor told reporters.
The defence argued that the accused was falsely implicated because the girl's mother wanted a contract which the accused had obtained, for her son-in-law. However, the court rejected this argument, Advocate Mhatre said.

The court found the girl's deposition reliable, noting that a child would not lie. The court also accepted the medical reports while convicting the accused, the prosecutor added.
Judge Deshmukh directed that the fine amount be given to the survivor as compensation. The case has also been referred to the District Legal Services Authority for the payment of additional compensation.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)