Mumbai: A 26-year-old badminton coach has been sentenced to five years in jail for pinching a 10-year-old girl’s breasts and slapping her buttocks in July 2019 for “a mistake” during a training session in Mulund.
The special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) judge Kalpana K Patil said, “One can understand an accidental touch during teaching service by holding hand, but there cannot be pinching on the breast in that process.”
The shameful incident
The victim girl attended badminton coaching at a recreational club in Mulund before going for a dance class escorted by a domestic help. On July 10, 2019, after the classes, the girl informed her parents of what happened during badminton training. The family rushed to the club and spoke to the head coach, who denied the incident.
In her testimony, the girl narrated the entire incident and claimed that the coach pinched her breast twice and slapped her bottom. In his defence, the coach claimed that the girl was making mistakes despite instructions and the touch referred by the victim was part of coaching and punishment.
Court made decision in victim's favour
The court rejected the defence and observed, “If the girl felt awkward due to the way of teaching with the coach coming close and accidentally touching in that process as punishment for a mistake, she would have complained during the initial few days. On the day of the incident, during the process of teaching, she felt the touch by the accused was intentional. Hence she complained about it. Pinching and slapping on the buttock of a girl aged 10 years is definitely not the manner of punishment.”
The court further said, “According to the accused, his act of touching, pinching and slapping was part of his coaching and punishment to the victim girl when she was committing the mistakes. The victim was 10 years old at the time of the incident; she was on the verge of attaining puberty. At that stage, breasts and buttocks are parts of a girl’s body that are most sensitive. The coach is not expected to punish students by slapping or pinching such parts. This act cannot be said to be accidental or non-intentional.”
