26-year-old convicted of stalking schoolgirl

THANE: The sessions court has convicted a 26-year-old man has been convicted of stalking a Class X student from his neighbourhood in Ghodbunder Road.

The accused, Shivkumar Mourya, has been sentenced to jail term, which he has already undergone during his trial for a month in addition to imposing a fine of Rs 20,000.

Sanjay Londhe, district government pleader and Vinit Kulkarni told the court that in August 2015 while the victim was on her way to school, Mourya would stalk her.

“This happened several times and once while she was travelling in the bus the accused sat next to her and tried to touch her inappropriately. Fed up with frequent harassment, the victim told her mother about the same. The mother then lodged a police complaint, which was subsequently made into an FIR after which Mourya was arrested, said Londhe.

The defense counsel submitted that the accused was a 26-year-old youth and the sole bread winner of his family and that he did not know the victim.

After hearing both the sides, the judge pointed out that the maximum punishment is imprisonment for three years with fine. “However, if the alleged act of the accused is compared with other acts mentioned in those respective sections, then certainly the role of the accused is much lighter,” the judge observed. — Nishikant Karlikar