Mumbai: Man gets 20 years in jail under POCSO for raping nine-year-old

A special court designated for sexual crimes on children sentenced a man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping a nine-year-old child at knife-point on Wednesday. The child was raped after the accused broke into the house at night when she was sleeping alone with a sibling.

Special Judge under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act CA Nathani also imposed a fine of Rs 11,500 on 37-year-old Anwarali Mandal, a goldsmith by profession.

The child told the court that she woke up frightened when someone pressed her mouth. She found herself gagged with a piece of cloth, hands tied and naked. The child who was a student of class V at the time of the incident in 2014, told the court that the stranger was wielding a knife; he slapped her before sexually assaulting her which led to vaginal bleeding. The man fled the spot after a neighbour entered the house.

Special Public Prosecutor Geeta Sharma said that he was not alone that day — one man was waiting outside the house, while the other was committing the crime. Abdul Hasan, who was waiting outside, died during the trial.

The child's father used to deliver tiffin prepared at home to Zaveri bazaar area, due to which he would go out of the house late night. That night, since his wife had gone to her native, he had requested a neighbour to look after the children after he had locked them in the house and left. In his testimony, he told the court that when he was requesting his neighbour to look after his children, he had seen two men with him.

After registering the complaint, the police arrested Anwarali. It turned out that, he was one of the two men who were with the neighbour when her father informed him that his children were alone at home and requested him to watch out for them.