2 min readVadodaraApr 9, 2026 04:31 AM ISTThe accused fled under the excuse of “using the toilet” on March 30 when he was being escorted by the police to a court from the Vadodara Central Jail, where he was lodged as an undertrial. Vadodara Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) caught him in Dhule on April 1. (Photo: Freepik)Days after he fled from police custody while being produced before a court here and was eventually tracked down, a man accused of sexually assaulting a minor girl was convicted and sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment in the 2020 Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case registered at a police station here.The POCSO court also imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 on the convict. As per the case, the accused had accosted and sexually assaulted the victim when she had stepped out of her house to fill water in October 2020.Relying on the statements of witnesses as well as the medical and forensic evidence put forth by the prosecution, the court held that it had presented “credible evidence” and “proved its case beyond reasonable doubt”, handing out the sentence to the accused.The accused fled under the excuse of “using the toilet” on March 30 when he was being escorted by the police to a court from the Vadodara Central Jail, where he was lodged as an undertrial. Vadodara Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) caught him in Dhule on April 1.A release of the Vadodara city police on Wednesday said that the conviction awarded by the special court was a result of a “fruitful and diligent investigation” carried out by the police inspector probing the case and stated that police was working on a “conviction-rate-improvement” drive in crime cases. © The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Gujarat