New Delhi:
A Delhi court has sentenced a man to 18 months imprisonment for threatening to throw acid on a student and stalking her on way to college.
Metropolitan Magistrate Shivani Chauhan also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on convict Syed Arshad Kadri, a native of UP, who was held guilty of the offences under sections 354 (molestation) 341 (wrongful restraint) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC.
"Prosecution has, very well with all certainty and conviction, been able to prove and establish the culpability against accused beyond the pales of reasonable doubt," the court said, while relying on the girl's testimony.
The court, while convicting Kadri, had said that he used to stalk the girl on her way to college where she was studying mass communication, "restrained her way several times and threatened to throw acid upon her and kidnap her if she did not pay heed to his advances."
It had said that Kadri's counsel could not elicit any material contradiction in testimony of complainant and could not reasonably explain evidence appearing against him.
The court also rejected Kadri's contention that the girl framed him and she could not recall the mobile number from which he allegedly called her, saying, "the mere fact that the witness does not remember mobile numbers from which the calls were received does not negate the occurrence of the incident".
According to the prosecution, the girl had lodged a complaint on December 1, 2010 that Kadri had been stalking, abusing and threatening her for one month.
Kadri, who was arrested and charge sheeted for the offences, pleaded innocence and claimed he was friends with the girl but her brother falsely implicated him as he did not like him.