Mumbai: A special court designated under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act acquitted a 40-year-old man accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting his six-year-old daughter, after the girl and the complainant mother didn't support the prosecution's case.
During the trial, the wife of the accused told the court that her husband didn't sexually assault the minor. Earlier in her police statement, the woman had said that she had witnessed the crime when she was working in the kitchen and heard noises from the adjoining room. On peeping inside, she saw the man indulging in the abhorrent act. Immediately, the woman rescued the daughter but the man threatened both of them not to reveal the incident to anyone. Confiding in her mother, the girl later said that this isn't a one-off incident as it has occurred 2-3 times in the past as well.
In their submissions before the court, the woman and her daughter both denied their police statements. The minor even refused the contention that she had earlier given a statement before a magistrate.
The court noted that the victim and her mother have not corroborated the version of the investigating officer or the story of the prosecution. It further said that the sole evidence of the investigating officer isn't sufficient to corroborate rape allegations.
Reasoning that the evidence isn't sufficient to convict the accused, the court acquitted the man who was in custody since December 2020 when the complaint was filed.
