Thane, March 29 A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy at a railway station in Navi Mumbai in 2019.
Special judge V A Patravale of the Kalyan court found the accused, Shrinivas Ramanna Reddy, guilty of charges under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
A copy of the order passed on March 17 was made available on Sunday.
Special public prosecutor Kadambini Khandagele informed that the incident occurred on the night of June 25, 2019, when the accused lured the victim, a homeless minor, to a dark area at the Panvel railway station under the pretext of offering him a drug and sodomized him.
The prosecution examined eight witnesses and relied on CCTV footage and medical evidence, including the presence of blood stains on the accused's person, to prove the case.
The court found the accused guilty of the charges under sections 4 (penetrative sexual assault) and 8 (sexual assault) of the POCSO Act and section 377 (carnal intercourse against the order of nature) of the IPC and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000, which is to be paid to the victim, who is also entitled to compensation under the Victim's Compensation Scheme.
