School bus attendant gets 10 years for 2014 sexual assault of three-year-old girl

MUMBAI: A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act court convicted and sentenced a 51-year-old school bus attendant on Monday to 10 years' imprisonment for repeatedly sexually assaulting a three-year-old nursery student in 2014.
Special public prosecutor Meera Choudhari Bhosale said the witnesses included the child and her mother.
The child was six years old when she deposed in court.
She said when the sexual assault took place, she was alone on the bus and only "blue uncle" (the accused in his blue uniform) was present. The child said the woman attendant not present and the "brown uncle" (the driver in his brown uniform) was fixing the bus and the other "blue uncle" (the other male attendant) was out picking up other children on their drive back home. She said the accused had sexually assaulted her previously too and she identified him in court.
The mother had told the court the child would leave for school at 7.30am and return by 11am. She recalled that the bus had one driver and two attendants.
She said the child would call the male attendant "blue uncle" due to the colour of his uniform.
The mother said on September 9, 2014, as usual, the child returned home, had a bath, ate and slept. She said the child woke up at 5.45pm and went to the washroom. Howver, unable to pass urine, she began to cry. She told her mother that she was in a lot of pain. When the mother asked her what had happened, the child told her that the "blue uncle" on the bus had taken her to the back seat and sexually assaulted her. The mother further submitted that when she asked the child if this had happened before, the child said "yes".
She said though the child did not know the name of the accused, she recognized him.
The mother said at 6.30pm, she took the child to the family physician who examined her and noticed a swelling on her private parts. She said she then returned home and informed her husband and father-in-law about the crime. The family then complained to the policce.
She said on September 10, 2014, the accused was brought to the police station and the child identified him as the man who had sexually assaulted her.
The woman bus attendant deposed as a defence witness. The woman said the accused was only a cleaner and did not pick up the children as men were not allowed to enter the school.
She claimed she had picked up the child, made her sit and did not leave the bus thereafter.
The woman denied that any such incident had taken place. She also denied the prosecution's suggestion that she was deposing falsely with the intention to save the accused.
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
Read this story in Bengali