Thane, Jul 18 A special court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a man accused of sexually assaulting and disrobing a minor, ruling that the prosecution failed to prove foundational facts and that the accused was likely framed in the case.
Special Judge G T Pawar acquitted Santosh Undaru Pandit, alias Undarya, accepting the defence's argument that the complainant's family had targeted him for reporting their illegal liquor trade to the police.
Pandit had been booked under sections 354(4) (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 509 (word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The case originated from an FIR registered on December 15, 2014, at the Naupada Police Station in Thane.
According to the prosecution, on the night of the incident, he allegedly assaulted the 17-year-old victim's father, mother, and sister on a footpath, uttered highly objectionable words, and pulled and tore the victim's gown, outraging her modesty.
During the trial, the defence argued that the accused was falsely framed because he had complained to the police about the illegal liquor business run by the victim's father.
While the court determined that the victim was indeed a minor at the time of the incident, it found glaring inconsistencies in the prosecution's evidence.
A relative of the victim admitted during cross-examination that the girl's father was running an illicit liquor trade and that the complaint was filed out of animosity.
The court subsequently ordered the acquittal of the accused and cancelled his bail bonds.
