A court in Maharashtra's Thane district has acquitted a man accused of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old boy in 2018, reprimanding the prosecution for a "half-hearted" investigation, reported news agency PTI.

The Thane court of special judge P R Ashturkar, dealing with cases under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, in the order on February 3 said the allegations of assault, criminal intimidation and threatening were also not duly proved, reported PTI.