Man sent to two-year imprisonment for flashing minor girl

Savarmal Jaat has been convicted under Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC along with relevant sections of the POSCO Act. (Representationla image)

A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act court sentenced a man to two years’ imprisonment for flashing a minor girl. In her deposition, the 12-year-old girl had said that on March 13, 2015, when she was studying on the staircase outside her house around 3 pm, the accused came there and winked at her. She tried to ignore him, holding her book up in front of her face. After a few minutes, when she lowered the book, she saw the man standing 10-15 feet from her home and exposing himself, the girl told the court.

The girl got scared and ran to her mother and informed her of the incident. The man had left by the time her mother could reach the staircase. The mother and daughter informed their neighbours and gave them a description of the man, including the colour of his t-shirt and that he was wearing earrings in both ears, according to her deposition. About 25 minutes later, their neighbours located the accused and brought him before the girl. She identified the man, who was then taken to Sahar police station. The accused was identified as Savarmal Jaat.

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The prosecution examined three witnesses, the minor girl, her mother and investigating officer Assistant Police Inspector Ashwini Baban Nanaware. Jaat — now 26-year-old and originally from Bikaner, Rajasthan — had in his defence said he was falsely implicated in the case and that he had been brought to the police station when he was lying on the road in a drunken state.

Observing that the intention of the accused was “immoral”, special court Judge M A Baraliya said the prosecution had proved the case beyond reasonable doubt. The court said that the girl was above 12 years of age and understood what the accused had done. “… There is nothing to disbelieve in the case of prosecution,” said the court.

Jaat has been convicted under Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC along with relevant sections of the POSCO Act. The court has sentenced him to two-year imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000, to be paid to the victim.