New Delhi: A special court has sentenced a 25-year-old man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for kidnapping and forcibly trying to kiss a minor girl in the Dharavi area of central Mumbai. Special judge Jayshri Pulate on Monday found the accused guilty of the offences committed under section 363 (kidnapping) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act for aggravated sexual assault, news agency PTI reported.
The detailed order was made available on Tuesday. The incident took place in 2015 when the victim was nine years old and was studying in a civic school. The victim, in the deposition, said that the accused took her to the top floor of a building, pulled her towards him and tried to kiss her. The girl somehow managed to free herself and run. The accused had taken her to the spot on the pretext of giving her a dress.
The court noted that the defence had argued a lot claiming that there was a variance between the victim’s statement and her evidence before the court as to whether the accused kissed her or was trying to kiss her.
The judge observed that there was no substance in the variance, as it has been proved on record that the accused kidnapped the victim, took her to the terrace and pulled her towards him, which revealed that he had done the said acts with sexual intention, the report added.
