The security guard was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the rape of an 11-year-old girl Mumbai news

MUMBAI: A court has sentenced 30-year-old security guard Anil Singh to 20 years in rigorous imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl who lived in the building where he worked. A friend of the convict, Arun Mhaske, who worked in the same building as the lift operator, was acquitted of aiding and abetting him due to lack of evidence.

According to the prosecution, Singh got her grandmother’s phone number from the girl. On August 15, 2021, he called her and demanded a date. After meeting her, he took her to the back of the parking lot and into the building’s restroom and raped her. He also threatened to harm her parents if she told anyone about the incident.

This became known after the girl’s mother noticed that the girl was constantly crying and under severe stress, which greatly impaired her studies and appetite. A month later, in September 2021, the mother talked to the girl and she told about the incident.

A case was later registered at the Kanjurmarg police station under Sections 376, 354 and 354-A of the Indian Penal Code and Sections 6 and 10 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO).

In court, the girl stated that her father had previously complained about Singh and his habit of watching the children, after which Singh told her: “Your father complained about me, now I will see too.” She told the court that the second accused, Mhaske, would tell her that Singh was waiting for her, and one day, after Singh had raped her, she saw the two of them laughing together.

The defense argued that the girl’s family had lodged a false complaint against Singh as the building authorities had not fired him after a complaint lodged by the girl’s father.

The court, however, noted that the defense did not adduce anything in the record to support its position.

“It is clear from her testimony that she tried to cope and save herself from sexual violence. She tried to survive in these circumstances. When the entire incident was out of her control, she narrated the incident to her parents,” observed special judge JP Darekar while sentencing Singh on October 24. Regarding the charges against Mhaske, the court said that the prosecution had not presented any evidence to prove that he instigated the act.