Noida: Two minor sisters left behind at home by their labourer parents, who were often away for work till late in the evening, were raped and threatened by their landlord, one whom the girls would call “uncle”. Nearly 5 years later, a Pocso court sentenced the accused, now 62, to 20 years in jail.
Special public prosecutor Chawanpal Bhati said an FIR in the case was registered at Sector 20 police station on April 4, 2019, after a complaint was submitted by the father of the two girls — then just 7 and 5 years old — through NGO Childline against his landlord.
The girls, the counsel said, would be left at their rented shanty as their parents, daily wage labourers, could not afford daycare services. “On April 3, 2019, when they left for work, the accused took the girls to his house in the neighbourhood, disrobed them and touched them inappropriately. He also gave the two kids some money and sexually assaulted them,” Bhati said.
The accused, who was a scrap dealer, was arrested the same day and sent to judicial custody. A chargesheet was filed on April 19 and the charges were framed on Sept 24, 2019.
The two children testified before the court during the trial. In her statement, the elder sister told the court that “Kabadi uncle” took the two girls to his house in the neighbourhood and touched their private parts. “He also shoved his private part in our mouth and gave a few rupees and asked us not to disclose this to anyone,” she said. The five-year-old girl told the court that she “suffered pain and bleeding after he assaulted me”.
The accused claimed he was being framed as the girls’ father, who had not paid the rent for six months, wanted to seize the shanty. On Friday, special judge (Pocso Act) Chandra Mohan Shrivastava relied on the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and sentenced the man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a Rs 50,000 fine under Pocso Act’s Section 6.
Special public prosecutor Chawanpal Bhati said an FIR in the case was registered at Sector 20 police station on April 4, 2019, after a complaint was submitted by the father of the two girls — then just 7 and 5 years old — through NGO Childline against his landlord.
The girls, the counsel said, would be left at their rented shanty as their parents, daily wage labourers, could not afford daycare services. “On April 3, 2019, when they left for work, the accused took the girls to his house in the neighbourhood, disrobed them and touched them inappropriately. He also gave the two kids some money and sexually assaulted them,” Bhati said.
The accused, who was a scrap dealer, was arrested the same day and sent to judicial custody. A chargesheet was filed on April 19 and the charges were framed on Sept 24, 2019.
The two children testified before the court during the trial. In her statement, the elder sister told the court that “Kabadi uncle” took the two girls to his house in the neighbourhood and touched their private parts. “He also shoved his private part in our mouth and gave a few rupees and asked us not to disclose this to anyone,” she said. The five-year-old girl told the court that she “suffered pain and bleeding after he assaulted me”.
The accused claimed he was being framed as the girls’ father, who had not paid the rent for six months, wanted to seize the shanty. On Friday, special judge (Pocso Act) Chandra Mohan Shrivastava relied on the testimonies of the prosecution witnesses and sentenced the man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and imposed a Rs 50,000 fine under Pocso Act’s Section 6.