Mumbai:A special POCSO court in Mumbai has sentenced a 25-year-old businessman to 1.5-year imprisonment for sexually harassing a minor girl who was going to school and calling her an "item" in 2015. The detailed order of the verdict was revealed on Saturday.
According to sources, on July 14, 2015, a 16-year-old girl was returning from school and the youth pulled her hair and said, "Kya item kidhar ja rahi ho?" The court said the term is generally used by boys to address girls in a derogatory fashion as it objectifies them in a sexual manner.
The court noted that such offences need to be dealt with a heavy hand as a lesson needs to be meted out to such roadside Romeos to protect women from their uncalled-for behaviour.
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Special Judge SJ Ansari said, "The prosecution has proved that he had sexually harassed her and no question arises of showing unwarranted leniency to him." In the testimony, the victim narrated that on July 14, 2015, she was returning from her school in the afternoon and the youth was sitting on his bike. He followed her, pulled her hair, and called her an ‘item’.
