Man gets 5 years in jail in POCSO case

Bhopal: A special POCSO court here sentenced a person to five years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 3,000 on him for the sexual harassment of a seven-year-old girl.

According to the prosecution, the mother of the victim lodged a complaint with the police on June 26, 2022, stating that her husband took their daughter to a salon for a haircut. She appeared to be upset when she returned. When she was repeatedly asked why she was upset, she said that the barber, after putting a piece of cloth on her body for the haircut, was touching her body inappropriately.

She and her husband took her to the barber's shop again, and there the girl, in the presence of the barber in question, narrated what he was doing to her during the haircut.

Based on the complaint, the police registered a case against the accused under section 354(a) of the IPC and section 9(M)/10 of the POCSO Act. After further investigation, they presented a charge sheet against the accused, Mohd Zaid, in a special POCSO court.

After examining the evidence and statements of witnesses, the court of Special POCSO Judge Kumudini Patel sentenced the accused to rigorous imprisonment.