Man sentenced to 10 years in jail for raping minor

The Alibaug district session’s court on Friday sentenced a 22-year-old labourer to 10 years’ imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 16-year-old girl last year. The arrested accused, who allegedly befriended and promised marriage to the minor, was arrested in June 2019.

The convict, Ajay Waghmare, who is already married and has a son, had met the minor in Pen, Raigad, in April, 2019. On May 31, Waghmare took the minor to Adivasiwadi in the same area and raped her.

The girl narrated the ordeal to her family members, following which they informed the police. Mandva coastal police filed a case and arrested him on June 6. The accused has been remanded in judicial custody since then.

The case was on trial at the Alibaug district sessions court where seven prosecution witnesses including the minor, her mother and her uncle deposed before additional sessions judge VM Mohite.

“Based on the deposition of the prosecution witnesses and the girl, who also supported the prosecution case, the man has been convicted,” said public prosecutor Ashwini Bandivadekar-Patil.

The court has convicted Waghmare under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act and imposed a fine of ₹5,000.