Tanvi Sinha
Special Judge R N Padhare of a Mumbai sessions court had convicted a 45-year-old handicapped man for 5 years for the sexual abuse and molestation of an 11-year-old child.
The man was sentenced to rigorous punishment of 5 years and was made to pay a fine of Rs 20,000 under section 8 of the POCSO Act that states a punishment of a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 5 years for someone who commits sexual assault and to be liable to a fine.
The FIR was promptly lodged in 2015 when the incident first took place and the words of the child, backed by the mother were taken as a testimony for the incident. He was initially charged with kidnapping and sexual assault, but the court ruled no instance of kidnapping.
A point by the judge was made on the issue of his handicap. Special Judge R N Padhare had stated that despite being handicap, the man had committed an atrocity and deserved the highest punishment for the same.
