Woman sentenced to 14 yrs in jail for pushing two minor girls into prostitution

A special court in Maharashtra`s Thane city has sentenced a 40-year-old housewife to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment for pushing two minor girls into prostitution, reported news agency PTI.

In his order of May 30, Special POCSO Act Judge D S A Deshmukh also imposed a fine of Rs 14,000 on the convict, a resident of Mumbai`s Goregaon area, reported PTI.

According to Special Public Prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale, a total of seven witnesses were examined during the trial.

The woman, a resident of Mumbai, was apprehended with two minor girls at a hotel near the Passport Office, in Thane`s Wagle Estate area on April 5, 2021.

The court was told that `Minor Girl-A` and the woman`s daughter were friends. The convict told Minor Girl-A, who came from a poor family, that she would get good money through prostitution. Subsequently, the woman used to send her to customers, the court was told, reported PTI.

The second victim, identified in court documents as `Minor Girl-M`, corroborated this account.

Considering the gravity of the offence, the judge said, this is not the case to show leniency to the accused. He then sentenced the woman to 14 years of rigorous imprisonment.

Tribunal awards Rs 58.26 lakh to accident victim with amputated leg

Meanwhile, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Maharashtra`s Thane has awarded Rs 58.26 lakh to a former accountant, whose leg had to be amputated after an accident four years ago, reported PTI.

The tribunal presided over by Member S N Shah, gave the order on May 23, a copy of which was made available on Saturday.

Arvind Bhikhala Parmar suffered injuries after a bus crashed into his two-wheeler in neighbouring Mumbai on February 24, 2021. His left leg was subsequently amputated due to the accident.

Advocate A R Yadav, who represented Parmar, told the tribunal that his client used to earn Rs 25,000 before the accident, which rendered him 80 per cent disabled. The matter reached the MACT as the bus insurance had been bought through a Thane branch of a national insurer.

“Considering the nature of the injury and condition of the petitioner, his occupational disability is considered as 100 per cent,” the tribunal said, awarding a compensation of Rs 58.26 lakh to Parmar.

(With inputs from PTI)

This article first appeared on Mid Day