Mumbai sessions court sentences man to 1.5 years in prison for sexual harassment, calling minor girl an “item”

A 25-year-old businessman has been sentenced to one and a half years in jail by a Mumbai Court after convicting him of sexually harassing a minor girl and calling her an “item.”

Mohammad Abrar Khan was found guilty last week by the Mumbai Dindoshi Sessions Court of violating the modesty of a young girl. “The accused used to tease the victim and called her ‘Item’,” the Court said. The accused has been sentenced to one and a half years in prison and fined Rs 500. “The accused addressed her by using the term “item” which is a term used generally by boys to address girls in a derogatory fashion as it objectifies them in a sexual manner. The same will clearly indicate his intention of outraging her modesty. …Such offences need to be dealt with a heavy hand as a lesson needs to be meted out to such roadside Romeos, in order to protect the women from their uncalled for behaviour,” the Court order said.

The incident occurred in 2015, when a female complained and Mohammad Abrar Khan, 25, was arrested in Mumbai.
The woman claimed that Khan and his friends had persistently harassed her.

“The accused used to tease the victim and called her ‘Item’,” the Court said. The accused has been sentenced to one and a half years in prison and fined Rs 500. “The accused addressed her by using the term “item” which is a term used generally by boys to address girls in a derogatory fashion as it objectifies them in a sexual manner. The same will clearly indicate his intention of outraging her modesty. …Such offences need to be dealt with a heavy hand as a lesson needs to be meted out to such roadside Romeos, in order to protect the women from their uncalled for behaviour,” the Court order said.

The incident occurred in 2015, when a female complained and Mohammad Abrar Khan, 25, was arrested in Mumbai.
The woman claimed that Khan and his friends had persistently harassed her.
The accused, who was sitting with his companions in the lane on the day of the incident, followed a 16-year-old girl as she made her way home from school, tugged her hair, and asked in Hindi, “Hey darling where are you going,” according to the court order.

The victim then went home and informed her father about the incident after which she went to Sakinaka Police Station with him. A report about the incident then came lodged by the victim at the Sakinaka Police Station.
The police lodged an FIR against the accused under the Protection of Children Against Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and fair and legal charges of the Indian penal code.
Last week, the Dindoshi Sessions Court in Mumbai was hearing a plea filed by Khan seeking acquittal citing good behaviour.
However, the judge rejected the petition and went ahead with the conviction.