A special court has recently sentenced a man to 5 years of rigorous imprisonment for molesting a minor girl from his neighborhood in Bhayandar town of Maharashtra’s Thane district.
Special Judge VV Virkar found the accused, Sadanand Vasant Lad (28), guilty of violating pertinent clauses of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The verdict, issued on July 26, culminated in a sentence of five years of rigorous imprisonment for the accused.
Additionally, a fine of Rs 7,000 was levied upon him, of which Rs 5,000 is designated to be compensated to the victim.
Special Public Prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale apprised the court that during the incident in 2017, the victim was a student of Class 4.
On December 17, 2017, the accused lured the girl to his residence on a pretext and subsequently molested her after securing the door, as indicated by her testimony.
When the victim raised an outcry, the accused attempted to silence her.
However, a woman residing in the neighbourhood heard the distress calls, hastened to the location, and apprehended the perpetrator in the act, according to the prosecution’s account.
In its verdict, the court highlighted that if the intervening woman had not intervened during the commission of the crime, the accused might have engaged in more severe actions.
The court, in its assessment, determined that the accused did not warrant leniency and should be subject to the maximum penalty prescribed for the proven offense.
