THANE, Oct. 25 -- A sessions court has sentenced a 51-year-old woman from Dahisar to seven years of rigorous imprisonment for trafficking and sexually exploiting a minor girl, following a police trap that exposed her involvement in forcing her friend's daughter into sex work. According to the prosecution, the case dates back to March 2022, when the police received a tip-off about the woman's illegal activities. Acting on the information, the police set up a trap using a decoy customer, identified as Abhishek Kolpe, who asked the accused to arrange a minor girl for Rs.15,000. After the woman agreed, the two decided to meet near the Mira Road railway station's auto stand on March 30. When she was accepting the money, the police caught her red-handed and arrested her. Subsequently, a case was registered against the woman under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. During the interrogation, the woman confessed to the crime and also said that she had promised to pay the girl Rs.3,000 from the Rs.15,000 deal. The police's investigation has also revealed that the accused was the girl's mother's friend and had taken the girl out, saying she would buy clothes for her, when she went to meet Kolpe. The victim told police that the woman had previously taken her to a flat in Dahisar, again claiming they were going shopping, but had instead left her with a man who sexually assaulted her. During the hearing on October 16 this year, the Thane Sessions Court found the woman guilty of trafficking and exploiting the minor. The court sentenced the accused to seven years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a collective fine of Rs.19,000 on her. The court found the sole testimony of the victim to be sufficient, noting the emotional toll on the child. "In this case also, the sole testimony of the victim is sufficient to prove the procuration, inducement and her sexual exploitation at the hands of the accused. Her demeanour during her evidence also shows that she was crying when her evidence was recorded," the court said....