Mumbai: A special Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (POCSOA) court on Monday convicted a youth for sexually harassing an eight-year-old girl and sentenced him to four years of rigorous imprisonment.
According to prosecution, the girl and the 25-year-old accused Safi Shaikh lived in the same locality in Ghatkopar in suburban Mumbai.
The father of the girl, the complainant in the case, told the Ghatkopar police that on January 23 this year when the girl was on her way to her tuitions, Shafi took the girl to his shanty and attempted to rape her.
The prosecution alleged that after the act Shafi gave the girl Rs 10 and asked her to keep mum and threatened her not to reveal anything to anybody.
Though the girl did not tell her parents anything, one of her neighbours who saw the girl with Shafi got suspicious and told her father. When the father asked her, the girl narrated the incident. She also told him that the accused had been molesting and harassing her since November 2012.
The father of the girl immediately filed a complaint with the police. However, since the medical reports did not show any incident of rape, Shafi was booked for molestation and sexual harassment under the provisions of POCSOA.
The prosecution examined seven witnesses to prove the case.
Accepting the prosecution`s case, the court sentenced Shafi to four years of imprisonment.
PTI
