32-year-old gets 5 years in jail for molesting a child

A Delhi court has sentenced a 32-year-old man for five years for sexually assaulting an 8-year-old child in east Delhi.

Additional Sessions Judge Ashwani Kumar Sarpal has also imposed a fine of Rs 10,000 on the accused, Dashrath, under Section 8 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), in default of which he would have to serve another six months in jail.

"After considering the statement of the victim, I am fully satisfied that she is telling the truth and her statement can be relied upon," the judge said.

The incident took place on June 13, 2014, when the child had gone to her grandfather's home during summer vacations. Dashrath assaulted the minor on the terrace while she was playing and then threatened her with a knife.

The traumatised child then insisted that she be taken to her paternal grandmother's home. Two days later, she narrated her ordeal to her cousin, who immediately informed her parents. Finally, a case was registered on June 15.

"Instead of informing her parents, the child confided in her cousin. Such an act cannot be stated as unnatural as a very small child may not be able to take a rational decision. It is very difficult to ascertain the mood and the mentality of the victim," the court stated.

The judge also said the victim's extremely subdued behaviour after the incident also pointed to the fact that she was shocked. The case of the prosecution became even stronger when the mother and the uncle of the child went to confront the accused. Dashrath had absconded by then and could be arrested only a month later, following which he was put on trial and was convicted for offences under Sections 354 (assault) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and Section 10 of the POCSO Act.

Denying all charges, the accused had claimed that he was falsely implicated. The court, however, observed that the fact that the accused ran away from the spot puts him under the scanner.

The delay in the lodging of the FIR was not given much importance by the court, which stated: "The blame cannot be put upon the victim in any manner as she was a minor at the time and could not herself go to the police station and report the matter."