Man gets 7 years rigorous imprisonment for raping minor, handed fine of Rs 30,000 by POCSO judge PP Jadhav

Thane: A 28-year-old man from Mumbra in the district has been sentenced to seven years of rigorous imprisonment by a special court for raping a minor in 2015. Special POCSO court judge PP Jadhav recently convicted Shabbir Mulani and also slapped a fine of Rs 30,000 on him. He was found guilty under IPC sections 376 (rape) and 312 (causing miscarriage), and also under section 4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

The accused is a contractor in the business of making imitation jewellery and used to give the contract of making jewellery to women in the locality. Prosecutor Vivek G Kadu, who appeared for the prosecution, told the court that the victim who resided in the vicinity used to collect material from Mulani’s unit for the assembly of jewellery.

On May 20, 2015, the accused called the victim, who was 17 years old then, to his unit for packing the jewellery. When she came, he sexually assaulted her, the prosecution said. Two months later, the victim was admitted to a hospital due to some health issues. During her check-up, doctors found her to be two months pregnant. When Mulani got to know about it, he reached the hospital and forced her to take pregnancy termination pills. As a result, the victim suffered a miscarriage.

Until that time, the victim had not disclosed details of the sexual assault because the accused had threatened her, the prosecution told the court. She later told her family members of the ordeal, following which a complaint was lodged against Mulani and further action was taken.