Bihar: Two-year-old child charged with molesting 35-yr-old woman

In a bizarre case, a two-year-old tiny tot has been charged with molesting a 35-year-old woman in Bihar’s Motihari district.

The FIR lodged at the Patahi police station in East Champaran has not only charged the toddler with outraging the modesty of a woman but also snatching her gold chain. However, under Section 82 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), a child below the age of the seven can’t be prosecuted simply because nothing done by such a child is an offence.

Ever since the FIR against him has been lodged, the toddler is so terrorised that he remains confined to a corner of his room after some people told him that the police would soon come and arrest him and his father.

The man (name withheld on request) has been running from pillar to post to get his son’s name deleted from the FIR. The woman, who lodged the police complaint, is believed to have done so to settle scores with the man, who had a personal enmity with the woman and her family.

The child’s father met the station house officer (SHO) of Patahi police station, Narendra Kumar, but all his pleas for justice fell on deaf years. “The SHO, in turn, suggested that I surrender in court at the earliest,” he said.

The SHO, however, denied being vindictive towards anyone. He said when an FIR is lodged against someone, the age of the accused is not mentioned. “After, I heard the case, I suggested to the aggrieved person to meet senior police officers,” Kumar said.

The child’s father later met Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) of Motihari Vijay Kumar. “We will look into all aspects of the case. If the child is below the age of seven, he will be absolved of all the charges during the course of investigation and supervision,” the senior cop averred.