Mumbai: No relief for Pocso accused

Mumbai: A special court under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act has denied anticipatory bail to a top executive of a leading corporate accused of sexually assaulting his nine-year-old daughter.

The court, which highlighted that the alleged offences are serious, said there are chances of the executive fleeing justice considering that he is influential.

The complaint about the alleged sexual assault of the child was filed by the executive's wife, who had also filed for divorce from him. She had also filed complaints of domestic violence and cruelty against him.

In the present complaint, the woman said that she noticed since August that the child was frightened and quiet. In October, she took her daughter into confidence and the child told her that for the past three months her father would call her to his room and touch her inappropriately after shutting the door. He also allegedly threatened the child not to tell anyone about it as he would otherwise jump from the terrace of their building.

The man told the court in his anticipatory bail plea that it was a false complaint and that his wife was having an affair with another man. He said their relationship has been strained since 2020 because of the affair. He also said that his wife had filed for divorce and had also filed a domestic violence complaint against him, seeking Rs5 crore from him. The executive said he was ready to undergo a narco test, a lie detector test, or a brain mapping test to prove his innocence.

Special Judge SM Takalikar of Dindoshi court, while denying relief to the executive, said the victim is the daughter of the applicant and they reside in the same house. The court further considered that the victim is nine years old and that the allegations are serious in nature. For a detailed investigation in such a serious offence, custodial interrogation is necessary, it said.