India: Man gets 20-year RI for raping minor girl

Palghar, May 18 (PTI) A 22-year-old labourer has been handed a 20-year rigorous imprisonment by a sessions court in Vasai in Palghar district of Maharashtra for raping a four-year-old girl in 2016.

Additional Sessions Judge Rahul Bhosale convicted the accused, Suresh Mukne, under various sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and under section 366 A (procuration of a minor girl) of the Indian Penal Code on May 16.

The court also imposed a fine of Rs 16,000 on him, Additional Public Prosecutor Kadambini Khandagale said Saturday.

Mukne had abducted the girl from Phulpada locality in suburban Virar on the morning of August 29, 2016. He then took her to a dilapidated bungalow where he sexually assaulted her, said Khandagale.

Mukne was arrested and a chargesheet was filed against him.

During arguments, the judge dismissed the defence's plea seeking leniency for Mukne, saying that the offence has been proved against him.