Thane Crime: Court awarded rape accused 7-year-rigorous imprisonment

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A 26-year-old man was sentenced to seven-year rigorous imprisonment by Thane Court for allegedly sodomising a minor boy in 2016. The accused was also awarded a fine of Rs 3,000

Last week, Special judge SP Gondhalekar sentenced the accused, Mohammad Akram Jaki Ansari, guilty under Indian Penal Code Section 377 (unnatural offences) and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) act.

According to the prosecution, the accused Mohammad Akram Jaki Ansari and the 12 -year-old boy were residents of the same locality in Bhiwandi town. On December 26, 2016, the accused had called the boy to his house to watch television. Taking advantage of the situation, the accused sodomised the boy and then warned the boy against revealing the offence to anyone. The accused even gave him Rs 20 to buy a fruit drink.

However, the boy rushed back home and narated the entire ordeal to his father who registered a complaint against the accused with the police. Acting on the complaint, the accused was arrested the next day and booked him under the IPC and POCSO sections.

The prosecution sought maximum punishment for the accused, saying it was a "serious crime".

The judge said, "Admittedly, the nature of the offence is serious. A special statute is enacted to safeguard minors from such offences. Therefore, leniency cannot be considered."

"Considering the totality of circumstances, the age of the accused and the fact that he is in jail since his arrest in the case, I am of the view that the accused shall be sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for seven years," Special Judge SP Gondhalekar said in his order.

In another incident, a 35-year-old man was burnt to death in West Bengal's Malda district after a woman he allegedly raped and set on fire, grabbed him while still ablaze, police said Tuesday. The woman is now under treatment at the Malda Medical College and Hospital with burn injuries in her face and hands, officials said.

She claimed that the accused used to disturb her and entered her house on Monday evening when no one was there. The woman, a widow, said that he then raped her and set her on fire, and she then grabbed him tightly. Police said locals rushed to her house after noticing smoke emanating from there and found both of them on fire inside a room. A jar of kerosene was also found in the room, officials said. They took both of them to a local hospital from where they were referred to the Malda Medical College and Hospital.

The man succumbed on Tuesday morning there, police said. The woman lived at Subhas Colony under Manikchak police station limits. She has three daughters and her eldest daughter was married and lives elsewhere. Police said they were trying to find out why the accused had visited Subhas Colony, which is around 35 km from his residence in Chanchal. Locals claimed that the accused often visited the house of the woman. District Superintendent of Police Arnab Ghosh said, "We are investigating the case from all angles."

(With inputs from PTI)

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