India: Elderly sentenced to imprisonment for molesting minor

Kolkata, Nov 22 (PTI) A 72-year-old man was sentenced to three years of rigorous imprisonment by a city court Thursday for molesting a minor girl who worked as a help at his residence.

The retired engineer was accused of molesting the girl and peeping into the bathroom when she was taking bath at his residence in Phoolbagan area of east Kolkata.

Special judge (POCSO) at Sealdah Court Jimut Bahan Biswas sentenced Tapan Bhattacharyya to three years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed on him a fine of Rs 20,000 for the offence.

The girl had filed the complaint with the Phoolbagan police station on October 31 this year with the help of a local woman to whom she had narrated her ordeal, special public prosecutor Vivek Sharma said.

The 14-year-old girl had been sent by her family to work as a help at Bhattacharyya's home owing to abject poverty, Sharma said.

Bhattacharyya was charged under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012.