A special court in Maharashtra's Thane district on Monday sentenced a man to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment for raping his four-and-half-year-old neighbour. The accused was also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on him and the court directed that the realised fine amount be given to the victim as compensation.

As per PTI report, Judge D S Deshmukh convicted the accused, Shivaji Shripat Dhadave (32), of charges under relevant provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Special public prosecutor Sandhya H Mhatre informed the court that on October 10, 2016, both parents were away and had left the victim and her one-year-old sibling alone at home and latched the door from the outside. The accused managed to enter the house, picked up the victim, and took her to his house where he raped her, she said.