A 25-year-old businessman in Mumbai was convicted and sentenced to one and a half years in prison for allegedly harassing a 16-year-old school student, calling her ‘item’, reports Times of India.
The POCSO Court ruled that using the word ‘item’, when used to address a girl, is used in the context of objectifying her sexually and nothing else. The court refused to let off the accused on a ‘good behaviour’ bond and also refused to show any leniency, per TOI.
“Such offences need to be dealt with a heavy hand as a lesson needs to be meted out to such road-side romeos, in order to protect women from behaviour that is uncalled for,” special judge of POCSO court S J Ansari said, reports TOI.
The incident dates back to 2015 when the teen was returning from school. The accused allegedly pulled the girl’s hair and told her ‘kya item, kidhar ja rahi ho?’ (Hello, Item. Where are you off to?’)
The POCSO court also rejected the claims made by the accused that he was falsely implicated because her parents were against her friendship with him. The minor deposed in court only in July this year, according to the report.
In her deposition, the 16-year-old said the accused was sitting in a lane with his friends adding that when she was getting back from her school at about 2.15p.m, the accused was still sitting on his bike in the lane.
According to TOI, the minor said that on seeing her, the accused came behind her, pulled her hair and uttered the words. She also said that she tried to push him away and asked him to stop. The girl alleged that the accused soon began abusing her and said that he could do what he wanted.
The minor reportedly dialed 100 immediately, but by the time cops came to the spot, the accused had already fled. The teenager then informed her father about the incident, the report says.
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