A court here in Maharashtra has awarded three years' rigorous imprisonment to a 40-year-old woman for driving a teenaged girl to attempt suicide in 2016.
District Judge R S Gupta in his order on Wednesday also imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on the accused, Surekha Gaikwad, and ordered that Rs 10,000 out of it be given to the victim, then aged 14.
The accused was pronounced guilty under Indian Penal Code Section 195-A (whoever threatens another with any injury to his person, reputation or property).
Additional Public Prosecutor Rekha Hiwrale told the court that the victim and the accused, a shopkeeper, were residents of Kopri locality in Thane city.
Before this incident, during an identification parade in a case of eve-teasing and molestation filed by the victim, she had identified a man as the accused.
Gaikwad, who was acquainted with the man, got annoyed over this and asked the victim not to depose in court against him.
The woman also threatened the victim that since she had identified the man in the molestation case, he would throw acid on her after coming out of jail.
Upset over the threat, the victim hanged herself from the ceiling of her home on October 12, 2016, when her mother had gone out for work and her father was sitting outside.
After sometime, when the victim did not open the door, her parents raised an alarm. Their neighbours rushed in and broke open the door.
The victim, who was found unconscious, was brought down and rushed to a hospital where she underwent treatment.
Later, based on a police complaint filed by the victim, an FIR was registered against Gaikwad.
After hearing both the sides, the judge relied on the victim's deposition in the court, and in his order said the prosecution proved the case against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
