The Alibaug sessions court on Thursday sentenced Raju Rajendra Kasare (20), a resident of Baudh Wada in Uran, to 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment for raping a four-year-old girl from his neighbourhood.
The incident took place on May 22, 2018, after the accused took the victim to his house on the pretext of giving her chocolate. The accused told her he would drop her back to her uncle’s house after having chocolate but instead, raped and assaulted her and later kept her in the storage area of the divan (cot) in his house.
“A woman in the vicinity had seen the accused taking away the girl. She had noticed that the accused was continuously peeping outside the window. She got suspicious and looked to inform the victim’s parents. But since they were not around, she told one of the victim’s relatives about it. When they confronted the accused, he ran out, banged the door shut, pushed them and fled,” said assistant police inspector Shivani Kate, who investigated the case.
The girl sustained a head injury and a hymen tear. “Besides rape and assault, the accused was also booked for attempt to murder. But the medical report said the head injury was not grievous in nature and hence was not fatal. So, the charge of attempt to murder was dropped while the session court upheld the assault charge,” public prosecutor Ashwini Bandiwadekar Patil said.
The accused was arrested the next day from a relative’s house in Karjat where he had fled after committing the crime. During the trial, 12 witnesses were examined including the victim, the complainant, Suchitra Kasare, who had seen him fleeing, the medical officer, forensic officer and investigating officer.
Sessions court judge V.M. Mohite convicted him under sections relating to rape and voluntarily causing hurt of the Indian Penal Code and those under the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
