A court in Pune in Maharashtra on Saturday sentenced a 67-year-old former Indian Administrative Service official to five years in jail in a sexual offense case registered in 2015.
Maruti Hari Sawant, who was posted in the Maharashtra Council Of Agriculture Education And Research when the incident came to the light, was accused of sexually assaulting four minor girls and showing them obscene material.
Special Judge S P Ponkshe held Sawant guilty under 67 (A) (publishes or transmits or causes to be published or transmitted in the electronic form ) of the Information Technology Act, while he was acquitted of charges under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and Indian Penal Code.
Sawant used to call minor girls playing in the parking area of his housing complex on Sinhgad Road to his flat on the pretext of giving them chocolates and would then show them obscene material on his computer and sexually assault them, Special Public Prosecutor Pratap Pardeshi said. The incident came to light after one of the victim girls told her school counselor, after which a case was registered against him at Sinhgad Road police station, Pardeshi said.
"The police had recovered more than 440 obscene videos and 7,189 obscene photos from his computer hard disk. The court examined 14 witnesses and held Sawant guilty under section 67 (A) of the IT Act and sentenced him to five years imprisonment. He was also fined Rs 7 lakh," the SPP informed.
