Ahmedabad: A special Pocso court on Tuesday sentenced a tuition teacher to five years’ imprisonment for molesting a girl student even though she had retracted her statement and turned hostile in court.In this case, the teacher from Behrampura was booked under BNS and Pocso Act in May 2025 after a woman filed a complaint at Kagdapith police station, alleging that he molested her 15-year-old daughter.The girl, a Class X student, complained about the alleged sexual assault by the tuition teacher and his inappropriate behaviour during a picnic in Dec 2024. He allegedly threatened to harm the girl if she told anybody about the incidents, the complaint states.During the trial, the prosecution examined seven witnesses and produced 11 documents to prove its case. The victim and her mother did not support the prosecution and were declared hostile. But the court convicted the teacher, relying on the testimonies of other witnesses, particularly the victim’s account to the doctor and the medical evidence.Special judge Heena Desai said, “In such a serious offence, if the court were to adopt a lenient approach and impose a lighter sentence, it would have an adverse impact on society.”Besides awarding the jail term, the court imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the convict. The court did not deem it appropriate to award compensation to the victim, as she had turned hostile during her deposition.
