Latur, Oct 22 (PTI) A special court in Latur district of Maharashtra on Thursday sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for sexually assaulting an eight-year old girl after luring her with a mobile phone last year.
Special District and Sessions Judge SA Sayyed delivered the verdict, finding the accused, identified as Chumbalya alias Ritesh Rajnand Kasbe (21), guilty under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs 5,000 on the accused.
According to the prosecution, the incident took place on February 9, 2025, when the eight-year old girl was playing with other children near her home in a village in Chakur tehsil of the central Maharashtra district.
Kasbe called the minor girl over under the pretext of showing her a mobile phone and sexually assaulted her, it said.
Following a complaint lodged by the survivor’s mother on February 10, 2025, the Chakur police registered an FIR under relevant BNS sections along with provisions of the POCSO Act.
The investigation was led by then-Police Sub-Inspector Pankaj Nilkanthe, who subsequently filed a chargesheet based on forensic evidence and witness testimonies.
The accused attempted to mislead the court by casting scandalous allegations against the survivor’s mother, police said in a press release.
However, the prosecution successfully countered the defence through key testimonies from eyewitnesses, medical officers, forensic experts, and the investigating team. Scientific and medical evidence corroborated the witness accounts, establishing Kasbe’s guilt, it added. PTI COR RSY
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