Rajkot: A special Pocso court in Bhuj sentenced a 52-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for sodomizing a five-and-a-half-year-old boy in a village of Mundra taluka in Kutch, underscoring how children are vulnerable to predators even in familiar neighbourhoods.The crime occurred on Aug 9 and an FIR was registered the next day at Pragpar police station in the Kutch West jurisdiction against Baldevpuri alias Balu Gosai under Section 75(1)(A) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 3, 4, 4(2), 5(M), 6, 8, 11(6), 12 and 18 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act.Judge J A Thakkar sentenced Gosai to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and fined him Rs 28,000. The court also directed that Rs 4 lakh be paid as financial assistance to the victim.Police recorded the child’s statement before a magistrate under Section 183 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita. Statements of 11 witnesses, including the child’s parents and the doctor who conducted the medical examination, were placed before the court. Police had also seized the clothes of both the accused and the victim.The prosecution submitted that the boy was playing on the street around 12.30pm on Aug 9 when the accused lured him to his house by offering Rs 5. The boy later told his mother what had happened. The prosecution submitted that the boy had been sodomized twice, including once earlier when he was taken behind a temple. The child knew the accused as “Balubawa”.Investigating officer D D Simpi filed the chargesheet on Sep 15, and the court framed charges the same day.The accused pleaded innocence, urging the court to show mercy. He alleged faulty investigation, false medical grounds and claimed he was implicated due to resentment between his family and the victim’s family. The court noted that no evidence of such enmity emerged.Defence lawyer C C Gujarati argued that the accused was from a poor family, his wife was disabled and he had dependent children, including an unmarried daughter. Citing the absence of any criminal antecedents, he sought the minimum punishment.Opposing the plea, special public prosecutor H B Jadeja submitted that the prosecution had proved the offence beyond doubt. He stressed the age gap between the victim, who was below six, and the accused, who was 52 at the time, and sought maximum punishment. He also pressed for the fine to be paid as compensation to the child.In the order, the judge said crimes against children were rising steadily, creating a climate where young children no longer felt safe even while playing outside their homes. Such incidents, the court observed, deeply affect not only the victim’s mental health but also instil fear among parents and families.
