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Thane : The Thane District and Sessions Court has sentenced a 28-year-old man to five years of rigorous imprisonment for using fake social media accounts to send obscene messages, photographs and videos to minor girls and harass them. District and Sessions Judge Dr Anita Nevse sentenced Mangesh Tambe, a resident of Uttan, to five years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined him ₹50,000 under Section 67A of the Information Technology Act. He was also sentenced to three years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined ₹10,000 under Section 354A of the IPC. The court said failure to pay the ₹50,000 fine under the IT Act would attract an additional six months’ imprisonment.
The court directed that the fines be paid to the victims as compensation. Unable to take the harassment for long, the complainant approached Sagari Uttan Police Station, which registered a case under the IPC, POCSO Act and Information Technology Act and arrested Tambe. During the trial, Assistant Public Prosecutor Bhamre-Patil examined nine key witnesses and presented adequate digital and documentary evidence. The court found Tambe guilty on the basis of the evidence and witness statements.