A special court in Mumbai has sentenced a 30-year-old watchman to five years of rigorous imprisonment for molesting a 10-year-old girl inside an elevator of a Kandivali housing society in November 2020, observing that he had violated the trust of residents who had appointed him for their safety.
The court, designated for cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, found the accused guilty of sexually harassing the child in the lift, a place where she was left helpless and vulnerable. “There was no one in the lift to rescue the victim from the clutches of the accused. It was certainly mental trauma for her,” special judge A D Lokhande observed in the detailed order made available on Monday.
The judge said the watchman, who had been in jail since his arrest in 2020, would get a set-off for the time already served. However, the court refused to take a lenient view, stating that the accused had “breached the trust” placed on him by society members. “Watchmen are appointed to guard against external threats. Here, the threat came from within,” the order said.
While the defence argued that the victim had wrongly identified the accused due to a prior dispute between the families, the court rejected the claim, saying the girl’s testimony was credible and sufficient to establish guilt. The prosecution, led by Additional Public Prosecutor Geeta Malankar, maintained that all charges had been proven and stressed that the accused had betrayed his role by exploiting a minor.
The judge said the child’s account was reliable and underscored the seriousness of the offence. “The sole evidence of the victim transpires credence and was sufficient to hold the accused guilty,” the court noted.
(Based on PTI inputs)
