Thane, Nov 17 (PTI) A court in Maharashtra's Thane district acquitted a man who was accused of raping a 16-year-old girl, citing that the prosecution had failed to prove the charges against him.

Special judge D S Deshmukh, in his order dated November 1, the prosecution failed to prove the charges under relevant provisions of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Special public prosecutor Varsha Chandane informed the court that on March 22, 2018, the girl who was a Class 10 student left her house saying she was meeting her friends in school and did not return. The girl and the accused came to the police station six days later and she told the police that the accused had raped her.

The judge, in his order, noted that the prosecutor had declared the girl's mother as a hostile witness.

The witness has stated that they (the girl and the accused) have settled the matter out of court and the accused was going to marry her daughter, the court said. PTI COR ARU