In a case involving sexual assault against two kindergarten girl students at a school in Badlapur, the Bombay HC chastened the police authorities for the delay in registering the FIR and victim statement of one of the girls.  It also pulled up the school authorities for not reporting the case to the police and asked whether the police had registered a case against the school under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. When Advocate General Birendra Saraf told the court that action against the school will be taken now, the court retorted that it should have been done at the earliest and ordered the police to take action against the school authorities, Bar and Bench reported. The bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Prithviraj Chavan also questioned the police for not naming the second child victim in the FIR and sought explanation for the same.

The court made these queries and remarks while hearing the suo moto case [High Court on its own motion v. State of Maharashtra] on August 22, 2024 concerning the lapses in police investigation in the case of sexual abuse of two 4-year-old girls at a school in Thane’s Badlapur.

The bench was reported saying that “These girls have complained but several cases go unreported. It needs huge amount of courage to speak about all this. Definitely the Police hasn’t played its role the way it ought to be. Had the police be sensitised, this wouldn’t have happened.” The court further conveyed its displeasure and said “We are appalled by the fact that the Badlapur Police has taken no efforts to record the statement of the second victim girl with either under Section 161 and 164.”

Notably, the Press Trust of India reported that thousands of protesters blocked railway tracks at Badlapur station and stormed the school building on Tuesday (August 20, 2024) after the case came to the limelight. The accused has been identified as a school sweeper and had reportedly assaulted the girls in the school washroom. The police informed the court that they have formed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case and have arrested the accused Akshay Shinde on August 17, following the complaint reported by the parents of the victim on August 16. The state also told the Court that statements of the girls have been recorded and their medical examination has also been conducted. The bench said that counselling of the girls needs to be undertaken, asked the state to inform in that regard.

Notably, it is alleged that the parents of the victim girls were made to wait for 11 hours at Badlapur police station before the officials took note of taking their complaints. On this issue the bench said that “The first thing in such cases of minors is police must have registered FIR. But they made the family wait for hours. This discourages the public from reporting such incidents.”

Criticising the Maharashtra Police, the High Court said “People shouldn’t lose faith in public. You should know what the motto of the Maharashtra Police is सद्रक्षणाय खलनिग्रहणाय (Sadarakshanaya Khalanigrahanay). It means to protect the good and restrain the wicked. Please be reminded of this…People should not come out on the streets like this for getting an FIR lodged.”

In a separate matter in which a minor girl was raped and who’s four and half month-old foetus was clandestinely aborted by a private hospital in Mumbai, another bench of Bombay HC rebuked the Maharashtra Police for deficiencies in the investigation. Importantly, the hospital had destroyed all the evidence regarding the abortion and had discarded the foetus.

Taking cue from the Badlapur case, the bench of Justices Ajay Gadkari and Neela Gokhale took a shot at the police and said “Every day, we come across at least four cases of serious crimes against women which aren’t probed properly… This is pathetic… Don’t you have specialised officers or women officers? Why to let only constables and head constables probe the cases. Why isn’t the Police sensitive in such cases?”

Justice Gadkari said, “Unless people protest your department won’t investigate? Is the State of Maharashtra trying to give us a signal that unless people protest it won’t take crimes against women seriously? Every day we are hearing of some or the other rape or a POCSO case”, LiveLaw reported.

The bench also questioned DCP Chowgule-Shringi and asked how come the police was not aware of the fact that a ‘hasty’ abortion carried out on the victim, who happened to be minor at the time of the incident. When the officer told the court that statement of the victim has been recorded by the police under Section 164, the bench replied that “But how will you prove the fact that the accused impregnated the victim? What if the court says the 164 statements are not inspiring confidence? Where does the case go then? Will this not help the accused? Is the police now helping the accused to save him from the clutches of law? How can the hospital destroy such vital piece of evidence?”

It further said “Had we not taken judicial note, this couldn’t have come to light. Shouldn’t we record that all this is being done only to assist the accused in a POCSO case. How can the hospital carry out termination of a 4 and a half months foetus by consent of the minor girl, who lodged Rape case against accused…And worst is how can the hospital not maintain the evidence and go ahead and discard the entire evidence despite our clear orders that whenever the pregnancy of a rape victim is aborted, the tissue needs to be preserved for the purpose of DNA Sampling”.

The court ordered the DCP to file an affidavit detailing the investigation plan of the police and asked what action it proposes to take against the hospital, which destroyed the evidence. Moreover, it also directed the police authorities to verify whether the applicant Tarun Singh obtained the consent for the abortion either fraudulently or by force from the victim and her family.

The bench further expressed its concern over the manner in which investigations are being carried out by the police in cases related to women and children, despite repeated court orders flagging poor investigations in such cases. The judges said that if the state of Maharashtra is unable to pursue proper investigation in these matters, it should make a public declaration that it will not henceforth probe such serious cases.

Related:

Supreme Court stands firm on POCSO cases, overturns high court decision | CJP

Accused under POSCO granted bail on condition of marriage to victim: Allahabad HC | SabrangIndia

1.9 lakh POCSO cases pending in Fast Track Courts: Ministry of Women and Child Development | SabrangIndia

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Ujjain, Madhya Pradesh

In MP’s Ujjain, a 12-year-old child was found unclothed and bleeding after a horrific rape. She had been trying to seek help in this state by going door to door of people’s homes, but nobody reached out to help her. One man even callously shooed her away as she approached him for assistance. These incidents was captured by a CCTV camera on Badnagar road, approximately 15 kilometres from Ujjain in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

The young girl eventually managed to reach an ashram where a priest at the ashram immediately suspected that she had been subjected to sexual violence. He proceeded to quickly covered her with a towel and rushed her to the district hospital where medical examination confirmed that she had been subjected to rape.

Given the seriousness of her injuries, the girl was urgently transferred to a hospital in Indore. When questioned by a senior police officer about her name and address the traumatised child could not answer or speak clearly.

A case of rape has been registered against unidentified perpetrators under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Ujjain’s police chief, Sachin Sharma, has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to identify and apprehend the culprits. The officer also mentioned that the girl could not provide her place of origin however her accent suggested she may be from Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh and thus the police has also urged people to come forward with any information that could help in the investigation. 

Mumbai, Maharashtra

In another harrowing incident of violence, an eight-year old was raped in Mumbai’s Jogeshwari area. A 53 year old man has been arrested in relation to the case. According to ANI, the victim and her mother used to live in the same building as the accused. The mother used to leave the child with the accused man when she went out for work.

The child one day complained of the abuse to the mother, who went and lodged a complaint in the local police station. The accused has been charged under Section 376 of the IPC as well as the POCSO Act.

8-year-old girl allegedly raped in Mumbai’s Jogeshwari area. The accused is a 53-year-old man. The accused and the victim lived in the same building and the girl’s mother used to leave the child at the accused’s home while going to work as there was nobody at home to take care of…

— ANI (@ANI) September 27, 2023

Maharashtra continues to lead with the number of POCSO cases that are lying in wait with over 33000 in number. In fact, this is not just unique to the state, but overall a growing number of cases filed under the act have been lying pending – with over 170% increase since 2016 to 2023, according to The Times of India. With this scenario, where does this leave the children of young India? 

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Unveiling the Harsh Truth of Child Marriage in India

JJ Law makes no distinction between orphan & abandoned child: Bombay HC

The post Horrifying instances of rape in MP and Mahrashtra, accused booked under POCSO appeared first on SabrangIndia.

The family have alleged that the accused had extorted Rs 50,000 from her and when she failed to give them more money, circulated a video of her.

One person has been detained on Sunday, October 2, after the alleged gang-rape of a 17-year-old girl by eight men, who also extorted money from her and later circulated her video online. Rajasthan police managed to arrest one of the accused, Akram, in connection with the case. “He is being interrogated”, circle officer of Kishangarh Bas, Atul Agre told the news agency PTI.

The FIR was frst registered on September 29 against eight accused who allegedly gang-raped the minor thrice, police said.Speaking on the details of the case, the SHO of the police station Amit Kumar said the 17-year-old victim received a call from one Sahil on December 31, 2021, who told her that he had some objectionable pictures of her and he told her to meet him.

When she reached his place where he meant, the other accused – eight men from the same village raped her. They allegedly shot a video of her gang-rape as well. Police also said the girl was also raped twice after that on January 3 and April 6. It was the father of the girl told police that the accused took Rs 50,000 from her in exchange for not circulating the videos. NDTV has rhat after their later attempt to get Rs 2.5 lakh (in addition to the Rs 50,000), they released the girl’s footage online.  At this stage, the family then went to the police.The SHO said all the accused are residents of the same village. They have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act.

Related:

Lakhimpur Kheri: Postmortem confirms Dalit sisters were raped before murder
Delhi: 10-year-old boy, allegedly raped by friends, succumbs to injuries

The post Eight men gang-rape minor girl, circulate video online: Rajasthan appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Malda: Four months on, a 6-year-old rape survivor is still waiting for justice as the police procedure moves slowly and the accused and his family threaten her family. Recently, there was also an attempt to kidnap her brother.
 
According to Bangla Sanskriti Manch, she was raped at Sershie, Kaliachak, Malda, West Bengal. “Several attempts were made by the victim’s father, who is a daily labourer. The accused and his family tried to resolve the matter by offering money to him but he refused it and said he wants justice. The father of the child informed BKM and asked for help. We went to the police station after which they filed the complaint. Ever since that has happened the accused and his family are threatening the survivor’s family with dire consequences. On Monday, the survivors elder brother went missing. The 11-year-old boy had been kidnapped by the accused. A missing complaint was lodged and the boy was found the next day. He said that four people tried to kidnap him but he ran away and hid in the mango orchards. The family of the survivor are living in fear. We are planning a protest rally if no immediate action is taken,” said Samirul Islam, president of Bangla Sanskriti Manch.
 
“On June 24, we saw her with a lot of expensive chocolates with her. I initially thought that she had stolen it from somewhere, as we can’t afford such chocolates. So, we began to scold her and my wife began searching her to check if she had chocolates hidden in her dress, she discovered that her pants were soaked with blood. A little coaxing and interrogation on what happened revealed that my daughter had been lured for chocolate and raped by our neighbour’s son,” narrated the father of the survivor in a report.
 
The father further said, “Three men entered his house and talked to the boy, who admitted to his crime. Someone from the locality even called the police, who came and made me sign in a blank paper, stating that they would need my signature to file the FIR. “However, then came the U-turn and everyone wanted us to settle the matter amicably, via a kangaroo court, which just kept postponing the hearing. The accused, we have come to know has been shifted elsewhere,” he added in a report from July.

 
In two videos, the father narrated the entire ordeal of how the accused are harassing their family and how their community has boycotted them. “With the help of BSM, I filed a complaint with Kaliachak police station. The incident was covered by media and newspapers. Ever since the FIR has been registered, the accused and his family members are harassing us. They shine torch lights in our house at night and threaten to kill us on phone. The police are not helping us and no investigation is being done. My daughter was medically examined but the police didn’t give me any report. They said they will file it with the chargesheet,” he said.
 
“I am poor and don’t have money but I don’t want this to happen to anyone else. Our lawyer in Kolkata has filed a case in Kolkata High Court. It has been four months but my daughter has not got justice. I heard that the police arrested the accused but he got bail after two hours. I am an illiterate person and I don’t know the rules. Mejo Babu from Kaliachak police station told me that he got bail because he is studying in college. On October 1, my 11-year-old son went missing after he went to study at the Madrasa. Thankfully he escaped and came back the next day,” he added.
 
He has also been shunned by his community. “I filed the case because today it is my daughter tomorrow it can be someone else’s child and if not stopped then a number of such cases will happen. Since I went to the police, I was shunned by my neighbours and the whole village. They seem to suggest that I have done something reprehensible by going to the police. At night, some people come and shine torch lights at my house. But till now nothing has happened. Nobody, not the village elders nor the police, has done anything to nab the accused. I want justice for my daughter. Till now nobody has come to me to offer any justice. Although I have not yet been pressurised in any way, the village leaders are putting pressure on the police to hush things up. The entire incident is being hushed up. They want this incident to be resolved amicably through a kangaroo court. I don’t want that. I want justice,” he said.
 
The survivor was produced before the magistrate and her statement was recorded. A case under the POCSO Act has been initiated.

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www.kosovapress.com

The arrest came a day after a look out notice was issued and the state police sought cooperation from their counterparts in neighbouring states.

“We have arrested Dorphang and he was brought here. He will now face trial,” East Khasi Hills district SP M Kharkrang told PTI.

The arrest was made from a place which he used as a hideout, he said, without divulging details.

In fact several raids were conducted within the state and even several places in Assam where the legislator frequented till Friday morning but the raids were futile.

A joint raid was also conducted at Hatigaon area on Thursday where the surrendered ULFA leaders are running their offices but they did not find him there.

Dorphang, who had co-founded an armed organization until he surrendered in 2007, went into hiding after the police booked him under section 366 (A) of the IPC and registered section 3 (a)/4 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO Act) and under section 5 of the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA) against him.

The sex racket came to light after an employee of a guest house owned by senior Congress leader and Home Minister H D R Lyngdoh’s son was arrested for trafficking of the 14-yr-old victim last month.

The victim was rescued from near the guest house and brought to the police station where she named all those involved in sexually exploiting her. Five of the eight people, including four women, named in separate FIRs have been arrested till date.

On 4 January, the court issued a non-bailable arrest warrant against Dorphang, following which the manhunt began.
 

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