Mumbai: The special court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) has sentenced a 54-year-old man to 20 years in jail for sexually assaulting his four-year-old neighbour after luring her with a samosa in July 2018.
As per the case registered with Kalachowki police station on July 27, 2018, the man, then 48 years old, lived with his sister on the same floor as the victim child’s family. On July 26, 2018, at about 7.30pm, the child’s mother was home with all her kids when the man offered the girl a samosa and took her to his house. After some time, the girl came back and resumed playing with everyone.
However, in the night, she complained to her mother of pain in her genitalia. The mother found the area swollen and applied oil, quizzing her about what led to it. The child then narrated the ordeal from earlier in the evening.
The next morning, she was taken to a clinic, where the doctor diagnosed a nail injury and referred to a nursing home, which asked the family to contact the police station, where a complaint was registered.
The prosecution examined nine witnesses and referred to medical reports that confirmed that the child was subjected to sexual assault. She too narrated the incident in the court and identified the accused as a “bad person”.
The accused’s sister appeared as a defence witness, claiming that she was at home and no such incident took place. The court rejected the defence saying that the accused routinely offered eatables to kids in the building and it’s unlikely that his sister keenly watched the child when she was offering namaaz.
