Thane: A court here in Maharashtra has acquitted a 51-year-old man who was accused of molesting his minor daughter in 2017.
District Judge K D Shirbhate, in her order on Friday, observed that the prosecution miserably failed to prove the charges against the accused beyond reasonable doubt.
Hence, he needs to be acquitted, she said. The accused was charged under IPC Sections 354 (assault or criminal force on woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 100(3) (assault with intention of committing rape), and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The prosecution told the court that the victim's parents had separated when she was a child, and she was residing with her father in Panchpakhadi area of Thane city.
The accused used to frequently molest the victim when she was asleep, the prosecution charged.
On December 25, 2017, the victim, who was then aged 17 and studying in Class 12, went out with her friends. She later returned home and had dinner. When she went to sleep, her father molested her again.
The victim suddenly got up and saw her father holding a knife in his hand and seeking sexual favours from her, the prosecution told the court.
When she resisted his move, the accused tried to attack her with the knife and in the process, both of them received injuries on their hands.
The victim ran out of the house and informed about the incident to a neighbour, who caught hold of the accused and handed him to police, the prosecution said.
The defence counsel argued that the accused was falsely implicated and there was no truth in what the complainant had stated.
The judge admitted submissions of the defence counsel and acquitted the accused, observing that the prosecution failed to prove the charges against him.
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