Mumbai Court Sentences Watchman To 7 Years In Jail for Attempting To Kill Woman Resisting Assault | File Pic
Mumbai: The sessions court, on Monday, sentenced a watchman to seven years in jail – minimum punishment – for attempting to kill a woman residing in the building where he was employed as she resisted his rape attempt in April 2017.
The convict, Raja Sabu, now aged 33 years, has already undergone incarceration. The court showed leniency, saying that he was 25 years old then and has “future prospects”, so the purpose of “purpose of punishment shall have to be reformative”. Sabu, hailing from West Bengal, was employed as a security guard in a building located at RTO Road, Andheri West.
The victim had alleged that on April 20, 2017, he entered her flat in an inebriated condition, behaved inappropriately and even tore her clothes. She tried to rescue herself and rushed to the kitchen, where she grabbed a knife, which he snatched and stabbed her. When her brother-in-law came to her rescue, he attacked him as well and fled. The neighbours rushed the two to a hospital.
Observation Made By The Court
Additional sessions judge AA Kulkarni held Sabu guilty for outraging the modesty of the woman but acquitted him of an attempt to rape. The court observed that, “While deposing before the court, the victim only deposed that he kissed her and lay on her; this is not sufficient to attract offence under section 376 (punishment for rape) of the Indian Penal Code…” Downgrading the charges, the court observed that in view of evidence, the offence is punishable under section 354 of the Indian Penal Code for criminal force and outraging the woman’s modesty
