THANE: A court in Maharashtra’s Thane district has acquitted a 26-year-old man in a case of kidnapping and raping a teenage girl in 2018, observing that the physical relations between the accused and the victim appear to be consensual.Special Judge (POCSO Act cases) Ruby U Malvankar, in the order on September 21, said victim was not a child at the relevant time and therefore, offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act do not attract, it said.The prosecution has failed to prove the charges against the accused, who needs to be given the benefit of doubt, said the order, a copy of the order was made available on Saturday.The prosecution told the court that on April 11, 2018, the victim, then aged 17, went missing from a place where she was working as a domestic help in Thane district.A police complaint was later filed by her father. The victim was traced to a slum colony at Uttan in Bhayander area of the district.Based on her statement, the police then registered an FIR against the accused under legal provisions for kidnapping, rape, giving threats and provisions of the POCSO Act.
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