Muzaffarnagar (UP), Jun 1 A POCSO court here on Monday sentenced a man to life imprisonment for sexual assault and subsequent blackmail of a 16-year-old girl, which led her to commit suicide in 2017.
Additional District and Sessions Judge, Muzaffarnagar, Manjula Bhalotia held the accused Akash Kaushik guilty of abetment to suicide and sexual assault under various sections of the erstwhile Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Government counsel Vinay Arora told PTI that following sexual harassment at the hands of the accused, the girl, a student of Class 12 committed suicide by setting herself on fire in Shamli district in August 2017.
In the police complaint, the girl's mother alleged that the accused sexually harassed her 16-year-old daughter, attempted to rape her and even made a video of the act, in June that year.
He later threatened to make her photographs viral, following which she stopped going to her school.
Due to persistent harassment, the minor died by suicide -- setting herself ablaze at her home, the mother had alleged.
On Monday, the special POCSO court in Muzaffarnagar sentenced Akash Kaushik to life imprisonment for abetment to suicide and sexual assault of the minor, also imposing a fine of Rs 70,000 on the convict.
