Mumbai: A special POCSO court on Thurday sentenced a 27-year-old badminton coach from Mulund to five years of rigorous imprisonment for patting, misbehaving, and inappropriately touching a 10-year-old girl student in 2019.
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According to the prosecution, the incident occurred during a badminton coaching class in Mulund. The victim, then in Class 5, attended classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday evenings. On July 10, 2019, around 4:30pm, the child, accompanied by her maid servant, went to the class as scheduled. After the session, the girl appeared scared, prompting her mother to inquire. The child revealed that her coach, Nitesh Dindhale, had pinched her on the waist and touched her inappropriately.
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Based on the mother’s complaint, Dindhale was booked under sections 354(assault, criminal force, sexual harassment, voyeurism, and stalking, that target women’s modesty and privacy) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and under sections 8 (sexual assault) and 10 (aggravated sexual assault) of the POCSO Act, 2012.
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During the trial, the child testified about the incident, stating, “Sir gives training by holding hands. I was making some mistakes in the game, and hence, Nitesh sir was angry. He slapped me and did a bad act with me.”
Advocate Gaonkar, representing Dindhale, argued on two grounds: first, denying any wrongdoing, and second, asserting that physical contact between a teacher and a student during coaching is commonplace. “If the student is making a mistake trainer has to teach him/ her by holding hands as to how to hold the racket and other techniques. There is the possibility of touching the student while teaching. After the alleged incident victim continued her training more specifically to improve her game,” he added.
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The defence further emphasised that touching a student while teaching does not imply an intention to outrage modesty. “It is obvious that the trainer’s physique may touch the physique of the trainee, which doesn’t mean that the trainer has an intention to outrage modesty, but he intends to improve the student who is committing an error.”
While pronouncing the order, special judge Kalpana K Patil imposed a fine of ₹5000 on the accused. “Now a days there are maximum cases in respect of children who have been sexually abused. The legislation has taken initiative to protect children from sexual offences. The result of which, the enactment, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act came into force,” held the court.
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2024-01-06 02:16:16
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