Mumbai: The special POCSO court has sentenced a 23-year-old man to 10 years in jail for sexually assaulting a woman whom he befriended on social media through a fake account pretending a woman. The man kidnapped her and took her to his native place in July 2020.
The accused initiated contact with the victim via a fake Instagram account, posing as a woman, and gradually obtained personal information. Their acquaintance extended to in-person meetings near the victim's coaching classes, where the accused reportedly offered her a chocolate that induced dizziness. Subsequently, the accused allegedly exploited her unconscious state, leading to sexual assault and the capture of explicit photographs.
Victim Was Assaulted For Almost A Year
The victim narrated a harrowing tale of repeated sexual assaults and threats, occurring from the initial incidents in December 2019 to an alarming episode in February 2020. The accused, on several occasions, allegedly blackmailed her, threatening to expose the compromising images on social media if she resisted.
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In July 2020, the accused lured the victim to Ahmedabad, drugged her with an intoxicating substance, and transported her to a village in Kutchch. The victim, regaining consciousness, sought help from her father, leading to her rescue and subsequent return to Mumbai.
The accused, maintaining his innocence, claimed a consensual relationship with the victim and argued that the victim was aware of the consequences. However, the court dismissed this defence, saying that the victims minor status rendered her consent irrelevant. The court also noted the victims statements regarding threats and coercion, asserting that the encounters could not be considered consensual.
Despite the accused's denial of a fake Instagram account, the court pointed out the absence of documentary evidence, complicating the verifiability of the victim's claims. However, the court ultimately rejected the defence, stressing upon the severity of the allegations and the compelling evidence presented by the victim.
The court noted, "There is ocular evidence of the victim. She stated that the accused had sent a friend request to her with a fake account in the name of the girl and she was not aware that the accused was a man. She continued sharing her information and when the accused called her for the first time, she came to know that it was the accused who handled the fake account and sent the friend request to her."
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