Bus driver sentenced to life for rape and attempted murder of girl in Thane

A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act court in Thane district of Maharashtra has sentenced a bus driver to life imprisonment for raping a four-year-old girl and trying to kill her in December 2020, reported the PTI.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 60,000 on 39-year-old accused, who worked as driver of a private bus, in the verdict delivered on Tuesday.

The amount shall be paid to the victim as a compensation, said judge D S Deshmukh of the special court for cases under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act.

According to the PTI, special public prosecutor Sandhya H Mhatre told the court that on December 4, 2020, when the girl was playing near her house in Bhayander area of the district, the accused abducted her in his bus and raped her, and later tried to kill her by strangulating her.

Thinking that she was dead, he put her in a gunny sack and dumped her on the road, as per the PTI.

A passersby rescued the girl, who narrated the incident to her parents. Accused was arrested on the same day.

The prosecution proved all charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt, the judge said.

A total of 17 prosecution witnesses were examined during the trial, said advocate Mhatre, the news agency reported on Wednesday.

Thane court sentences man to 20 years RI for sexually assault of 6-year-old girl

Meanwhile, in an another incident, a special court in Thane district sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for aggravated sexual assault of a six-year-old girl, reported the PTI.

Special judge D S Deshmukh found the 38-year-old accused, a resident of Bhayandar, guilty of charges under sections 376 (Rape) and 376 (AB) (rape on a woman under twelve years of age) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

A copy of the order passed last week was made available on Tuesday.

Public prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale said the incident occurred on February 11, 2021, in Bhayander.

The victim`s mother discovered her daughter was missing when she returned home from work and was informed that the accused, their neighbour, had taken her out for a snack.

The girl was found in the accused`s house with two notes of Rs 10 in her hand. She later told her mother that the accused had given her money, removed her pants and touched her inappropriately.

A complaint was lodged against the accused, who was arrested the next day.

The court, in the order, stated, “The act of sexual assault on the child is to be viewed seriously, and such offences are to be dealt with in a stringent manner,” according to the PTI.

The judge acknowledged the accused`s plea for leniency, citing his prolonged detention since 2021 and his family`s dependence on him.

“The accused submitted that he is now 38 years old. For the last more than four years, he has been in jail. He is the only earning member of the family. He has elderly parents, a wife and children. These facts have to be taken into consideration at the time of awarding the sentence to the accused,” he said, as per the PTI.

He, however, cited the statutory mandate of the POCSO Act and sentenced the accused to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, with an additional three months of simple imprisonment in case of default, according to the PTI.

The judge ordered that the time that the accused has spent in jail since his arrest be taken into account for his sentence, as per the PTI.

(with PTI inputs)