Mumbai: The special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court has sentenced a 47-year-old tailor from Matunga to three years imprisonment for sexually harassing a minor girl while taking her measurements in June 2022.

As per the victim’s complaint with the Sahu Nagar police, she was in Class 10 at the time of the incident. The tailor operated his outlet from the first floor of their house. On June 9, 2022, the victim’s parents were away to attend a wedding and she wanted to collect a pair of jeans that she had given the previous day to mend.

The tailor called her inside, held her shoulders and touched her inappropriately. When she resisted, he shouted and assaulted her with a hammer. On hearing her cry, neighbours gathered, following which the tailor fled. The girl’s paternal uncle and aunt took her to Sion Hospital. Thereafter, a case was registered and the tailor was arrested on the same day.

He pleaded that he was falsely implicated in the case. However, the court relied on the statement of the victim and also a neighbour who was an eyewitness. Though the injuries were fresh as per medical evidence, the court rejected the claim that they were caused with the intention to kill. The charges of attempt to murder were, therefore, dropped and the tailor was only convicted for sexually harassing the girl.

The tailor’s lawyer pleaded for leniency, contending that he be sentenced only for the period he has already spent in jail. The court, however, rejected the claim after considering the submissions of both parties.