Thane, Jul 29 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has sentenced two men to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for allegedly raping a 13-year-old girl in 2018.
Additional sessions judge N L Kale on Monday found the accused Akshay Pandurang Gavate (27) and Devidas Dharmesh Gavate (29) guilty of charges under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Considering the gravity of the offence, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 each on the duo.
Two other accused, who were juveniles at the time of the offence, are being tried separately by the Juvenile Court.
Special public prosecutor Vivek G Kadu and advocate Vijay Munde informed the court that the survivor, a Class 7 student at the time, was raped by the four accused near Jambhla village.
Her cries for help alerted villagers, prompting the accused to flee the scene.
The girl initially provided a consistent account of the incident during her chief examination on March 14, 2019. However, during a re-cross-examination conducted nearly three years later on August 5, 2022, she claimed she was unaware of the complaint’s contents and denied any penetrative assault.
The court, however, relied on the survivor’s initial statement, citing that her re-cross-examination was taken after a long period and a possibility cannot be ruled out that the accused persons won her over.
It also noted that the medical evidence substantiated the girl’s initial account. PTI COR ARU
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