Thane court acquits man accused of molesting minor girl

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A court in Maharashtra's Thane district acquitted a 52-year-old auto-rickshaw driver accused of assaulting a teenage girl in 2013, citing the victim's lack of cooperation in the prosecution's case.

On May 8, Special POCSO court judge VA Patravale determined that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against the accused, therefore giving him the benefit of the doubt. The order became available on Monday, reported PTI.

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According to the report, the prosecutor stated to the court that the 13-year-old girl told her mother that the accused, who drove her to school, sexually touched her and threatened her not to notify her parents. A case was later filed under Section 354A of the Indian Penal Code and the applicable provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Judge Patravale stated that the minor did not support the prosecution's case, even when given the opportunity to ask leading questions. As a result, the judge found no evidence to convict the accused of the alleged charges.

Meanwhile, in another incident, a Mumbai man was arrested for allegedly raping a 24-year-old woman under the pretext of promising her a job. Joseph James, a 50-year-old Mumbai resident, is the accused. According to ANI, the incident took place near the city's Worli police station.

Worli Police authorities told ANI that the woman, a Thane resident, was looking for work and had requested assistance from one of her male acquaintances. According to reports, the woman's friend provided her the mobile number of a man named Joseph and told her to contact him.

Reportedly, the woman, her friend and Joseph met in Khar. Joseph first offered to drop the survivor to Khar station when she expressed she would be leaving around at midnight and later coerced her into sleeping in his car saying that no trains would be available.

Later, around 3 am, when the woman was asleep, Joseph sexually assaulted her.

The woman informed police that Joseph threatened her and warned her not to tell about the incident. However, she alerted her lawyer friend about the occurrence, which motivated the 24-year-old lady to make a complaint. She then went to the nearest police station and filed a report.

Worli police investigated the victim's allegations and apprehended the perpetrators.