A 21-year-old farm laborer was convicted for raping a minor girl and awarded seven years' rigorous imprisonment by a local court.
Thane Additional Sessions Judge V V Virkar convicted the accused Nilesh Kashinath Dandekar on Saturday under section 376 of the IPC and sentenced him to seven-year rigorous imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 5,000.
According to prosecution, on December 15, 2011, the girl was playing near a brick kiln in Vikramgadh taluka of Thane district, when the accused, a resident of Shilpata's Dandkar Pada in the same area, asked her to accompany him to catch crabs.
When the victim refused to do so, he forcibly took her under a tree and raped her.
The prosecution also told the court, that a woman, washing clothes in a nearby stream, heard the girl's cries and helped her to reach her house.
The victim then narrated the offense to her family members, who later registered a complaint with police. Subsequently, the accused was arrested.
Relying on the medical report, the deposition of the woman who helped the victim to reach her home, circumstantial evidence and narration of the victim, the court convicted the accused.
Seven-year rigorous imprisonment was awarded to the convict along with a fine of Rs 5,000 which should be paid as compensation to the victim, failing which he would have to undergo another 5-month imprisonment.
