India, Nov. 1 -- A special court in Pimpri has sentenced a 31-year-old man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment for repeatedly sexually assaulting a minor girl in Chikhali in 2021, resulting in her pregnancy. The court also fined the accused, Kunal Pandurang Wavale, Rs.25,000.

Additional Sessions Judge Kavita D Shirbhate delivered the judgment on October 14, 2026, holding that the prosecution had proved the charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. The court relied on the victim's testimony, her mother's evidence, medical findings and a DNA report establishing Wavale as the biological father of the child.

According to the prosecution, Wavale sexually assaulted the girl on three occasions between July and...