India, Sept. 29 -- A special POCSO court on Friday sentenced a 59-year-old security guard to five years' rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting two girls, aged six and seven, in Malad in December 2021.

During the hearing on Friday, the accused Prakash Ramchandra Khadye claimed that the allegations were falsely implicated against him due to political rivalry, for which the court termed the defence a 'lame excuse.' While rejecting the claims, special judge S. N. Sachdeo of the Dindoshi Sessions Court ruled that the testimonies of the child witnesses were credible. "There is no reason for a Class 2 child to implicate the accused in a fabricated case falsely."

Khadye was sentenced to five years' rigorous imprisonment and fined Rs.1,0...