NAGPUR: The special court for Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, has sentenced a man to ten years of rigorous imprisonment for sexually assaulting a five-year-old girl in 2018.
Extra joint additional sessions judge KG Rathi found accused Bhimrao Bharaskar guilty under POCSO Act’s Section 6, which is similar to Section 376 (Rape) of the IPC, along with Section 235 of Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) and also slapped a fine of Rs2,000 on him.
While delivering an operative order, the judge granted him a set off for the period already undergone by him as an undertrial prisoner from July 27, 2018, when he was arrested.
The 38-year-old accused was arrested after the survivor’s mother lodged a complaint against him with the Kotwali police station. Both neighbours are a resident of Gayatri Nagar near Jagnade Square, and have shared cordial relations over the years. The minor used to frequently move to the home of the accused, who used to stay with his wife and son.
A few days before the incident, Bharaskar and his wife had an altercation over a domestic feud, and latter left her matrimonial home along with their child.
On July 26, 2018, when the girl was sleeping with her mother and brother, the accused invited her to his home. Despite her mother trying to stop her, she went to his home at about 2.30pm. About ten minutes later, her mother came to know that the daughter was crying, and she sent her elder brother to bring her back.
When the minor returned, she had a chips packet in her hands. The accused told her brother that she fell down at his home and therefore was crying.
After the mother inquired with her, she pointed out that she was having pain at her private parts and there was some bleeding. When her husband came back home, the complainant narrated the entire incident to him and both took their daughter to a nearby doctor, who told them that the accused had tried to insert his finger in her private parts that led to bleeding. The mother then immediately moved Kotwali Police Station and lodged the complaint.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
