A Sessions court in Dindoshi in suburban Mumbai on Wednesday convicted a 21-year-old man and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for forcing a 17-year-old college student to consume acid over an issue of spurned love. The court also asked the accused, Hitendra Sakpal, to pay a fine of Rs 65,000. The incident took place on October 19, 2013.
According to investigating officer police inspector Gokul Singh Patil, Hitendra Sakpal, a hotel management student, and the victim were residents of a chawl in Kajupada area of Kandivali.
According to the prosecution, the victim and the accused were dating but the girl distanced herself from Sakpal after her family disapproved their relationship. After their break-up, the accused somehow managed to take the victim from her college to Gorai, where they had a heated argument after which Sakpal forced her to drink acid. The victim’s face and lips were burned as she tried to resist drinking the acid.
A rickshaw driver reached the spot upon hearing the girl’s cry and the accused ran away on seeing him, Mr Patil said. The rickshaw driver then took the victim to Shatabdi hospital and Sakpal was arrested later in the day.
Considering all the evidence and testimonies of witnesses the court convicted Sakpal under section 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 364 (kidnapping or abducting in order to murder) and relevant sections of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
