Mother held a grudge: Court acquits man booked of sexually assaulting girlfriend’s 10-yr-old daughter | Mumbai news - Hindustan Times
close_game
close_game

Mother held a grudge: Court acquits man booked of sexually assaulting girlfriend’s 10-yr-old daughter

Feb 22, 2023 12:54 AM IST

Mumbai A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court on Monday acquitted a 29-year-old Kurla resident booked for an alleged sexual assault on the 10-year-old daughter of his neighbour

Mumbai A special POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) court on Monday acquitted a 29-year-old Kurla resident booked for an alleged sexual assault on the 10-year-old daughter of his neighbour. The court held that the mother had lodged the case against him out of grudge, as the accused had refused to marry her despite being in a relationship with her for a long time.

HT Image
HT Image

As per the prosecution, the incident took place on November 28, 2019, when the minor girl and her sister were home and her mother had gone out for work. The minor girl claimed that when she went to the public toilet in the slum, the accused asked her for sexual favours. Scared of his advances, she called the police helpline number and sought help after which the accused was arrested.

Hindustan Times - your fastest source for breaking news! Read now.

The girl claimed that the accused had been harassing her for a year and had once tried finger penetration on her and had misbehaved with her on several other occasions. The girl had claimed that as she was scared of him, she had not told anyone about the harassment.

The accused and the girl’s family were neighbours. The girl’s mother admitted that she had been in a four-year long relationship with the accused prior to the incident. The woman had insisted on marriage and as a result, there used to be frequent fights between them.

In her deposition, the woman claimed that the accused had proposed to her, and he was even staying with her. However, some time before the complaint was lodged, she learnt that the accused was having an affair with another woman. Also, she came to know that the accused had been abusing her daughters and hence, they had a fight and he had left the house.

She claimed that on the day of the incident, she did not know that the girl had dialled 100 to lodge a complaint against the accused and learnt about it only when she was called by the police. The court, however, did not believe this and noted that the woman’s statements were inconsistent.

“The evidence on record shows, the PW 1(mother of the girl) definitely had a grudge against the accused and therefore, there is every reason for her to depose against the accused and also to ask her daughter to call the police and inform the incident to the police,” the court observed.

The court also was not convinced that the girl was acting on her own when she called the police helpline. “Due to the grudge against the accused, it is easy to make allegations against him. The prosecution case that the minor girl, without giving information, called police is also not believable. It is difficult to accept that a 10-year-old girl acts in the said manner, without any advice from elders. There is also no evidence to show that any neighbour had helped the victim to call the police,” the court said while acquitting the accused.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON
Share this article
SHARE
Story Saved
Live Score
OPEN APP
Saved Articles
Following
My Reads
Sign out
New Delhi 0C
Friday, March 29, 2024
Start 14 Days Free Trial Subscribe Now
Follow Us On