Mulshi trader gets 10 years rigorous jail for raping 75-year-old aunt

Pune: A sessions court has convicted and sentenced a small time trader from Mulshi taluka in the district to 10 years' rigorous imprisonment for raping his 75-year-old aunt at an under-construction house on Sept 18, 2019, on the pretext of taking her back home from a doctor's clinic.The convict was 57 years of age at the time of the crime. The woman died during the pendency of the trial and her testimony could not be recorded before the judge. The court also sentenced the convict to two years' imprisonment for criminal intimidation and said both the sentences shall run concurrently.
Additional Sessions Judge Harshal Kisan Bhalerao ruled that the prosecution proved the case through a strong chain of evidence, including the victim's immediate disclosure to family members, the FIR being registered the same day at Paud police station, and medical findings indicating recent injuries consistent with sexual assault. The judge also relied on circumstantial evidence placing the accused alone with the elderly woman at the isolated structure shortly before the offence. The prosecution was represented by additional public prosecutor Sanjay Pawar.According to case put up by additional public prosecutor Sanjay Pawar, on the day of the incident, the woman had asked her nephew to take her to a doctor's clinic at Kolvan in Mulshi taluka as she was feeling unwell. The accused took her to the clinic and, on their return, instead of dropping her home, he diverted to an under-construction house belonging to her family. There, he sexually assaulted her and threatened to kill her if she disclosed the incident, the prosecution said. The doctors, who examined her, noted recent physical injuries and opined that the findings supported the allegation of sexual assault. The court observed that medical evidence need not be conclusive on its own but can strongly support the prosecution version when read with other testimony. The judge also noted that the accused had admittedly taken the woman to the doctor and was last seen with her before the incident. Articles belonging to the victim were found at the spot identified as the place of offence.