MUMBAI: A 66-year-old man who spent two years in jail after he was accused of sexually assaulting his six-year-old granddaughter was acquitted after the child's mother told the court that she did not wish to proceed further with the case as he was now suffering from cancer and that she had gone to the police due to a misunderstanding. The child, too, turned hostile in court.
"The victim girl clearly told the special prosecutor that nothing had happened with her in the house of her grandfather. No incriminating evidence has come on record to prove sexual assault and penetrative sexual assault as alleged in FIR. The evidence on record is not sufficient to convict the accused," the special POCSO court said. The alleged incident took place on December 20, 2020. The FIR said that the man had taken the child to his house to play and when the mother went to fetch her later, the child began crying and told her about the incident.
