Mumbai: The special POCSO court has sentenced a watchman to five years imprisonment with fine of Rs 4,000 for molesting a 10-year-old girl during the lockdown period. The court, while holding the watchman guilty of sexually harassing the minor, observed that he had broken the trust posed on him by society members.
Special POCSO judge Ashwini D Lokhande said, “Generally the watchmen are appointed in the society in order to prevent the unwarranted entry of the outsider who would commit any objectionable or illegal act in the society. In the present case, the accused who is himself a watchman had taken advantage of a lonely victim who was going to the house by the lift.”
The victim’s maternal aunt filed the case at Kandivali police station. The 10-year-old girl, the complainant's sister’s daughter, has been in her care as the child’s mother resides in Gujarat.
The accused, Mahendra Singh, 30, hails from Madhya Pradesh and had been working as a watchman in Mumbai for the past three years. He had come to the city in search of work, while his family remained in his native village.
The prosecution stated that the incident occurred on November 6, 2020, when the complainant had sent the girl downstairs to hand a mask to her brother-in-law. While returning, the accused allegedly sexually harassed her in the lift by touching her inappropriately and kissing her.
After reaching home, the girl informed her aunt, who then told her husband. The victim’s uncle went down to confront the accused with the help of other society members. Singh allegedly attempted to flee but was apprehended and the police were called. He was arrested and has remained in custody since.
The watchman has in his defence claimed that the victim's maternal aunt had a quarrel with him and hence false complaint lodged by her in order to take revenge. He further claimed that he had been working as watchman for the last three years but there had been no complaints against him.
The court refused to accept his argument and observed, “The sole evidence of the victim transpires the confidence. Nothing material has come on record to rebut her evidence. In the circumstances, sole evidence of the victim transpires credence and sufficient to hold the accused guilty.”
