A special POCSO court in Dindoshi sentenced a 57-year-old autorickshaw driver to 10 years in prison on October 22, 2024. The man was convicted of raping a 17-year-old girl with an intellectual impairment in 2017.
The victim is a resident of Malad East and disappeared on the evening of July 15, 2017. Her mother reported her missing to the Dindoshi police on the next day.
According to the girl's mother, the victim left home around 9:30 pm. She then went to sleep in an autorickshaw parked near Jogeshwari Civic Hospital. Later, she traveled to Borivali and asked for a ride home from another autorickshaw driver. The driver took her to another man, who drove her to a hotel.
The prosecution stated that the second driver checked into the Green Star Hotel in Malad West with the victim. They claimed he raped her at the hotel. Afterward, he abandoned her at Ganesh Nagar Naka in Kandivali.
At this point, a third driver met the victim. He took her to Mith Chowki in Malad West. She spent the night in a parked autorickshaw on July 17. On July 18, she walked home at noon. Her family took her to J J Hospital for a medical examination.
During the trial, the defense raised questions about the prosecution’s evidence. They argued there were inconsistencies in the testimony. They pointed out the victim's description of the events was vague. They also challenged the claim of the victim’s intellectual disability.
However, special judge Nandkishor More found the prosecution's key evidence reliable. He noted that the accounts given by the victim and her mother were consistent. The judge found the second driver guilty of kidnapping and raping the minor. Yet, he ruled that there was not enough evidence to charge the first driver.
The court sentenced the second driver to 10 years in prison and concluded that he was responsible for the crime.
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