New Delhi:
A 72-year-old man has been sentenced to five years in jail by a Delhi court which found him guilty of having sexually assaulted a 10-year-old girl.
Additional Sessions Judge Pawan Kumar Jain handed the sentence to Chandrika Prasad after pronouncing him guilty under Section 354 (outraging the modesty of a woman) of IPC and under the provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 on Prasad. "I am of the considered opinion that the prosecution has succeeded in proving the guilt of the accused," the judge said.
According to police, an FIR was registered against Prasad in February last year on a complaint by the girl's father.
The girl's father said that he runs a shop in Delhi close to a factory where Prasad used to serve as a guard.
He said that his daughter used to visit him at his shop in the afternoon following which he used to go home for lunch after asking Prasad to also keep an eye on his establishment.
But, on February 9 last year, his daughter told him that Prasad had molested her. Prasad was arrested the next day.
During the trial, the minor girl told the court that she was molested by the accused at the shop, allegations which Prasad denied, saying that he was being falsely implicated in the case.
The court, however, passed its verdict after stating that there was no reason to "disbelieve" the girl's testimony.
"In view of the fact that the accused (Prasad) failed to produce any contrary evidence... this court has no reason to disbelieve the testimony of the victim," it said.