Mumbai: Abandoned minor not sexually assaulted

According to police, the plot to kill his father — involving three men and a contract of Rs 10 lakh — was allegedly hatched by Mukeem in March. (Representational Image)

MEDICAL REPORTS of a four-year-old girl, who was allegedly abducted in March by her neighbour and found abandoned near Mahalaxmi temple, has confirmed that she was not sexually assaulted, as suspected earlier, but overdosed on benzodiazepine drug that the accused had mixed in mango juice and forced her to drink.

The girl was discharged from Breach Candy hospital on April 7.  Jayant Bajbale, deputy superintendent of police in Palghar, said charges under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act against accused Jyoti Kamble, who has been arrested, will be dropped. “The chargesheet will be filed in 12 days. We are including IPC sections related to kidnapping,” Bajbale said.

On March 31, the girl, in a semi-conscious state, was spotted near Mahalaxmi temple and rushed to the nearby Breach Candy hospital by a traffic constable. According to Gamdevi police, where the offence was first registered before the case was transferred to Palghar, the girl was abducted by Kamble, who pretended to be her aunt and picked her up from her from school in Virar. Kamble allegedly then brought the girl to Mumbai by train and forced her to drink spiked mango juice.

“The accused told us that she had a relationship with the victim’s father. He forced her to abort twice. She realised that the child’s father only wanted to have a sexual relationship with her and didn’t intend to marry her. She wanted to take revenge,” Bajbale said. The four-year-old was initially suspected to be raped due to her swollen private parts. The Gamdevi police had booked the accused under IPC sections 376 and 377 related to sexual assault along with charges under the POCSO Act.

In its medical report, however, the Breach Candy hospital refuted any possible sign of sexual assault. It said the girl was overdosed on benzodiazepine — a drug used for anxiety, insomnia, panic attack and seizures. Doctors claimed the drug is only prescribed for patients having anxiety disorders.

“My daughter told me that the juice tasted bad and she refused to drink it. But she (accused) forcibly made her gulp it down. She fainted after consuming it,” the girl’s mother said.

“I want the police to add charges of attempt to murder against the woman. My daughter was in a critical condition in her initial days of hospitalisation… I was never sure if she will survive,” she added.

Police said the accused will now be booked only under Section 363 (punishment for kidnapping) of the IPC. Officials said that while POCSO charges will be removed, charges of attempt to murder will not be added in the chargesheet.

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